Prince Harry – also known as the Duke of Sussex – has been engaged in a public relations blitz leading up to the recent release of his tell-all memoir entitled Spare, and in the estimation of journalist Dan Wootton, the disenchanted royal is now engaging in a form of blackmail against his own family by teasing the possible release of additional bombshells, as the Daily Mail reports.

Wooton's take came in an opinion piece published earlier this week, and it offered a searing indictment of the prince's motives and – by extension – those of his American wife, Meghan Markle.

New revelations floated

After launching a seemingly endless and headline-grabbing stream of broadsides against several members of the British royal family in his blockbuster book, Harry hinted recently that he still has sufficient material for a second volume.

Harry says that while he considered some of those details for inclusion in Spare, upon further reflection decided to hold back – for now – fearing that his father, King Charles, and his brother, the Prince of Wales, would never “forgive” him, as ITV noted.

Speaking to the U.K. Daily Telegraph's Bryony Gordon, Harry said of his recent release, “It could have been two books, put it that way” and that the first draft of Spare came to 800 pages, double the final tally of just over 400.

Harry told Gordon somewhat ominously, “[t]here are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don't want the world to know. Because I don't think they would ever forgive me.”

“But the way I see it is, I'm willing to forgive you for everything you've done, and I wish you'd actually sat down with me, properly, and instead of saying I'm delusional and paranoid, actually sit down and have a proper conversation about this, because what I'd really like is some accountability,” Harry said. “And an apology to my wife.”

Wootton takes aim

Not holding back in terms of his assessment of Harry's approach to family relationships, Wootton characterized the prince's latest salvo as “emotional blackmail on a global scale.”

Restating his reading of Harry's message to his father and brother, Wootton began by writing, “Issue a groveling apology to my wife and I against your better judgment.”

“Then forgive us for spilling your biggest secrets and darkest moments, laced with the most grotesque criticism to which you can't respond, to the highest bidder – or there's even worse to come,” Wootton continued.

Referring to Harry as the “Duke of Delusion,” Wootton lambasted the threats delivered in “another deranged interview” for having the effect of, as another royal source put it, “holding a gun to their heads.”

“Apologize for what?”

Wootton, a frequent and outspoken critic of Harry and his wife, declared that he would “laugh if this idiocy didn't threaten the international reputation of the British Royal Family.”

The popular GB News commentator then asked, “Apologize for what, you fool? Charles funded your wife's extravagant demands and then the Palace helped hide forever the findings of an independent investigation into her alleged bullying of multiple staff members.”

Wootton went on to assail journalists who have conducted interviews with Harry in recent weeks – including Gordon and CNN's Anderson Cooper – for not asking difficult questions or demanding proof of the disparaging accusations he has made in his book and elsewhere.

“The truth isn't what this is about,” Wootton writes. “Harry is doing everything possible to damage his family with the suggestion of dodgy revelations to come, without ANY actual evidence, something he would be furious about if the media were doing the same.”

Coronation conundrum

With King Charles' coronation set for May and Harry's attendance still up in the air, some Palace insiders have suggested that a summit of sorts should be held well in advance so that both sides can clear the air in order to avoid overshadowing an event of massive global interest.

Echoing Wootton's skepticism, if not the intensity of his anger, toward Harry's recent tack, British commentator Angela Epstein recently wrote for the U.K. Express that as the second son of the King, the Duke of Sussex should, by all means, be invited to attend the historic official crowning of his father, but one key condition must be attached for such an olive branch to be extended.

“[I]f Harry does sweep into Westminster Abbey in May, there should be a caveat. Namely, the signing of the Prince of some kind of non-disclosure agreement,” Epstein said, calling such a document “a fair and proportionate response to Harry's previous actions.” Whether such a scenario stands any chance of actually playing out, or if the Duke and his bride will even dare show their faces in London this spring, only time will tell.