
The father of two, who left the military in 2015, later shared the total number of people he killed during combat — and explained why he never lets himself forget that exact figure.
“I could always say exactly how many enemy fighters I had killed,” he said.
“And I felt it was important not to hide from that number. Of all the lessons I learned in the Army, accountability was one of the biggest.”
“So, my number: Twenty-five.”
His remarks caused a stir at the time, but both the Ministry of Defence and then-Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chose not to respond.
In another part of his book, Harry wrote that he didn’t feel pride or shame about the killings, but had to shift his thinking about human life while serving.
“I was part of six missions where lives were taken,” he wrote. “And each one was considered justified… I saw it that way too.”
He also admitted that, during his time on the battlefield, he pictured his enemies as “chess pieces taken off the board” — a way to stop himself from overanalyzing his role.