The Royal Family must realise "silence won't work" amid claims against them by Prince Harry as its image is being damaged, a royal biographer has warned.
Leaked extracts from his eagerly-awaited memoir Spare have emerged and it appears the Duke of Sussex makes a series of claims about his royal relatives.
Among them is that he had an altercation with brother Prince William, where he was knocked to the floor, breaking a dog's bowl.
Other leaks from the Sun, Daily Mail and Guardian report that Harry admits to taking drugs, begged his father King Charles not to marry Queen Consort Camilla and that William and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a party.
So far both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have declined to comment on any of the claims.
But according to royal author Tom Bower, the royals are making a "terrible mistake" by not hitting back - and that William should.
Mr Bower has written a biography of Meghan called Revenge, which has been re-released in paperback with a new updated chapter, and also a book on King Charles.
And he told the Mirror: "The problem is Charles doesn't like confrontation and he clearly has guilty feelings towards his sons because of Diana and everything.
"His advisors don't realise that silence won't work. They can't say we are not going to wash our dirty linen in public because it is being washed in public.
"And the damage to the image of the royal family and the damage to the image of Britain is enormous.
"The only way to stop it would be for William to give an interview at some stage to say what Harry and Meghan are saying is completely untrue.
"And that really in my view is the only way in which they can restore credibility. They just cannot sit back because outside of Britain, people will believe everything Harry says and the consequences for Britain are really serious."
The new chapter in Mr Bower's updated book is called Reconciliation Rejected - and includes claims about Harry and Meghan at the time and in the aftermath of the late Queen's death.
One of them is that William ordered an RAF plane to leave without Prince Harry as he and other royals rushed to be at the Queen's bedside at Balmoral on the day she passed away.
In a trailer for Harry's tell-all interview on ITV on Sunday night, he speaks of wanting to reconcile with Charles and William - but cast doubt on the royals' willingness.
But Mr Bower believes that Harry and Meghan aren't really interested in making up with their royal relatives.
He added: "Everything Harry and Meghan have said is very carefully researched and rehearsed to make as many headlines as possible.
"After the Oprah Winfrey interview and their trips to Britain, there was talk of reconciliation. But when Harry was here for the Queen's funeral, he knew what was in the book, he knew the bombshells he was going to deliver.
"So the idea that having stabbed the royal family in the chest that he was also seeking reconciliation was nonsense."
Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors by Tom Bower is out now (paperback, eBook and audio, Blink, £10.99).
