A Brighton military hero has called for Prince Harry to be stripped of his Duke of Sussex title following the release of his new book.
Flight Lieutenant Marc Heal, who was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by the Queen in 2010, has said that Harry’s grandmother would be “ashamed” after some of the revelations in the Duke’s book, Spare.
Fl Lt Heal, 42, who was also awarded the Freedom of the City of Brighton for his service in the RAF, also thinks Harry has lost the respect of the military after he described Taliban soldiers he had killed as “chess pieces”.
Having grown up in Brighton but now living in New York, he said: “Talking about his kill count doesn’t sit well with people who have been in combat. You certainly don’t refer to people as chess pieces.
“It’s such a shame, he was probably the most popular royal and now he is one of the most unpopular.
“I don’t think he cares about how he is perceived in Britain anymore. I feel like his grandmother would be ashamed to see what is happening.
“They are not promoting Sussex they are promoting themselves and I think the people of Sussex should have a say on whether he represents us.”
'An outstanding example of gallantry'
Fl Lt Heal thinks Prince Harry was trying to become a celebrity in the United States following the release of the book after watching the royal on American talk shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
The RAF chinook pilot completed seven tours of Afghanistan during his time in the air force and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving 29 lives in the heat of battle after commanding eight response missions.
Describing Fl Lt Heal, the citation for his award read that “Throughout this most intense operational period, his superior flying skills, inspirational command of his crew and calmness under fire set an outstanding example of gallantry, professionalism and courage that undoubtedly saved lives."
Fl Lt Heal was born at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and grew up in the city, attending Brighton College.
'He has lost the respect of most of the military'
Prince Harry also served in the middle eastern country in two tours as an Apache helicopter pilot in Helmand Province.
In an excerpt from his controversial autobiography, Prince Harry said that "in truth, you can't hurt people if you see them as people. They were chess pieces taken off the board, bad guys eliminated before they kill good guys”.
Spare was published in the UK on Tuesday, January 10, and 400,000 copies have been sold here. It has now become the fastest-selling non-fiction book in the UK.
Extracts from the book had previously been leaked in Spain prior to its publication and many of the claims in the autobiography were released early.
In the book, the Duke of Sussex also described a physical altercation with his brother Prince William.
In response to Harry’s comments on his time in the military, Fl Lt Heal said that sharing your kill count was the “one thing you don’t do”.
He added: “I think that he has lost the respect of most of the military. You don’t leave and shout about everything that you have done.
“He’s finding an excuse now because he has been called out on it.
“Now living in the US, I can see all sides of it. He wants to be a celebrity in the US.”
Prince Harry has since said in an interview on an American talk show that claims in the British press that he was boasting about his kills were a “dangerous lie”.
Fl Lt Heal said that he thought the Sussexes were now making money off the title and that the people of Sussex should now have a say on whether or not the couple represent the county on a global scale.
In a YouGov survey for The Times, 44 per cent of people polled thought that Prince Harry should lose his Sussex title.
Out of 236 Argus readers, 90 per cent believed that Prince Harry should no longer be the Duke of Sussex.
Prince Harry previously left his role as a senior working royal after his marriage to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, and the birth of his first child, Archie.
Since then, the couple now live in California with their son and daughter, Lilibet, named after the Prince’s late grandmother.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment regarding the comments made by Fl Lt Heal when approached by The Argus.
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