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Authorities in California have provided an update on the weapons used in the Monterey Park mass shooting, where a shooter fired into a crowd of people at a dance studio during Lunar New Year celebrations Saturday night, leaving 12 dead and several others wounded.

During a press conference on Wednesday evening, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said two weapons that were recovered near the Star Dance Ballroom Studio in Monterey Park, California included a Cobray Company semi-automatic 9mm MAC-10 and a Norinco 7.62 x 25mm pistol.

The MAC-10 weapon was the primary weapon used to carry out the shooting, as 72-year-old suspect Huu Can Tran is believed to have stood at the door and fired off 42 rounds, killing 11 people.

The weapon also had a modification to its trigger, although it is not clear if the weapon was modified to be fully automatic. It is being tested by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Luna said.

11 MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA, SHOOTING VICTIMS IDENTIFIED BY LA CORONER

FBI agents walk near a scene where a shooting took place in Monterey Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023.
(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A photo of the weapon shown during the press conference appeared to show a silencer or suppressor attached to its barrel. The attachment seemed to have a cloth or another material wrapped around the barrel.

A MAC-10 is typically illegal to own in California, which has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the U.S., especially on “assault weapons.” However, a Californian is allowed to legally possess a weapon that is later outlawed.

Luna did not specify when the weapon was obtained or whether its ownership was illegal.

The sheriff also said the weapon had a 30-round magazine and that the shooter swapped magazines at some point during his assault. Large capacity magazines, defined by California law as anything carrying more than 10 rounds, are illegal in the state.

This combination image created using photos provided by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shows a male suspect allegedly involved in a shooting on Saturday, Jan. 21, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department via AP)

Police tape cordons off the Star Ballroom Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on Sunday, Jan. 22.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, at podium, briefs the media outside the Civic Center in Monterey Park, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 22, 2023. 
(AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

A magazine swap on the weapon can happen within seconds, a firearm expert in the state of California informed Fox News Digital. 

A resident can, similar to an outlawed weapon, legally keep in their possession any large-capacity magazine if it was obtained before Jan. 1, 2000, Reuters reported.

FIRST VICTIMS IDENTIFIED FOLLOWING MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA, MASS SHOOTING

After his assault, police said the shooter fled the ballroom and used the Norinco, which was properly registered, to take his own life.

Capt. Andrew Meyer from Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said police have video from inside the dance studio but that its graphic contents would not be released at this time.

Investigators also obtained a warrant for the suspect’s home, where they found a Savage Arms .308 caliber bolt action rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

Yolanda Gallegos, 72, prays for victims killed in a shooting outside Star Dance Studio in Monterey Park, California, on Monday, Jan. 23.
(AP/Jae C. Hong)

A woman writes a message on a wooden heart that displays the name of a victim at a vigil outside Monterey Park City Hall, blocks from the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, late Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A family gathers at a memorial outside the Star Ballroom Dance Studio on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. A gunman killed multiple people at the ballroom dance studio late Saturday amid Lunar New Years celebrations in the predominantly Asian American community. 
(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The rifle is considered a hunting sports rifle and is legal in the state. The abundance of ammunition is also legal to own and is common across California.

During the press conference, Luna said the suspected gunman had not been to the Star Ballroom in the past five years and that any connection to the victims was not immediately clear. 

The suspect was arrested in 1997 for illegal possession of a firearm, Luna said. He is Vietnamese and previously lived in China and Hong Kong. A motorcycle was also placed at the scene by the presumed shooter at some point before the shooting. Police believe this may have been staged as a getaway vehicle. 

A police car is seen near the scene of a deadly shooting on January 22, 2023, in Monterey Park, Calif. 
(Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

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The victims that were killed Saturday night have been identified as Valentino Alvero, 68, Hong Jian, 62, Yu Kao, 72, Lilian Li, 63, Ming Wei Ma, 72, My Nhan, 65, Diana Tom, 72, Muoi Ung, 67, Chia Yau, 76, Wen Yu, 64, and Xiujuan Yu, 57.

The U.S. Constitution recognizes Americans have a fundamental right to own firearms and the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld this right.

The conventional wisdom about Donald Trump may once again be wrong.

The media-political complex is convinced that Trump has never been weaker, given how badly his handpicked candidates fared in the midterms, and that he’s ripe for a primary defeat. That might be true.

The complex is also convinced that Trump is going to be charged with some kind of crime, while conceding that the odds of that involving classified documents have plummeted after Joe Biden and Mike Pence also found they had such papers. But its members are hopeful that a Georgia prosecutor fighting to keep a special grand jury report secret to protect future defendants is about to indict Trump. That might be true.

Above all, this complex firmly believes the public is so utterly exhausted by Trump and his grievances and his stolen-election claims that there is no way he can win the White House again. That, too, might be true.

President Donald Trump smiles as he walks towards members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Louisiana for a rally.
(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

BIDEN, TRUMP, CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS: COULD THIS ALL BE PARTISAN HYPE?

But shouldn’t the press consider the possibility that it’s not?

The notion that Trump will be criminally charged is the hardest to predict, since such deliberations remain secret. But after Russiagate, the first impeachment, the second impeachment, the Trump Org probe and so on, those who crave seeing him in an orange jumpsuit have repeatedly been disappointed. And if Trump is hit with charges, there is little question that MAGA nation would rally behind him and he’d be able to cast himself as a martyr.

As for the primaries, Emerson College Polling shows that the former president remains the front-runner. He leads with 55 percent, trailed by Ron DeSantis with 29 percent, Mike Pence with 6 percent and Nikki Haley with 3 percent. Other recent polls have found similar results.

Now it’s possible, of course, that DeSantis will win by convincing enough Republicans that he offers Trump’s policies without the personal baggage. Or he may turn out to be a stiff and unlikable candidate. Another contender, like Haley or Mike Pompeo, could break out. 

But no one is rushing to get in for the next few months. Politico reports that advisers for three potential candidates have discussed the advantages of jumping in at the same time, in recognition of the fact that Trump on the attack “can be lethal.” One GOP insider is quoted as saying a group launch “provides them protection from Trump.”

FROM RON KLAIN TO JEFF ZIENTS, WHY BIDEN’S NEW STAFF CHIEF WILL BE FAR LESS VISIBLE

I don’t see how that’s true, given that Trump used his pugilistic style to beat 16 rivals to win the nomination in 2016. And multiple rivals can easily divide the anti-Trump vote.

So imagine now he’s the nominee. Is it beyond comprehension that he could beat an 82-year-old president who might be showing increasingly visible signs of slowing down?

That takes us to another part of the respected Emerson poll – which should be discounted because it’s so far in advance of actual voting, but provides an interesting marker.

The poll found Trump beating Biden, 44 to 41 percent, the 3-point gap being within the margin of error, so it’s a statistical tie.

This was touted as a turnaround because in November’s Emerson poll, Biden was leading Trump by 3 points – also a statistical tie, but this is a 7-point swing in Trump’s favor. For what it’s worth, the new survey says Biden leads DeSantis by less than a percentage point, 40-39.

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ handling of a Cuban immigration surge may serve as a lens into his policy platform should he run for president in 2024.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

Now I could write a series of columns on why Trump can never make it back to the White House. How his mishandling of the pandemic will never be forgotten. How he has alienated suburban and female voters with attack-dog politics. How he inspired the violence of Jan. 6 and waited hours before lifting a finger to stop it.

How he’s off to an erratic start, with such self-inflicted wounds as dining with Kanye West and Nick Fuentes. How his non-stop insistence the last election was stolen, without any evidence, makes him seem like a self-absorbed loser. 

How his casual use of a racial slur, calling Mitch McConnell’s wife Elaine Chao “Coco Chow,” is offensive. How the country doesn’t want another four years of chaos. How for too many people the Trump brand is now toxic.

But I also remember sitting on the set of my show the Sunday before the 2016 election, when virtually the entire world saw Hillary Clinton as a lock, cautioning that there was still some chance that Trump could win.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton arrive for the Presidential Inauguration of Trump at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 20, 2017. 
(REUTERS/Saul Loeb/Pool)

So is there no way in hell that a former President of the United States could win back his old job, even if that hasn’t been done since Grover Cleveland? I think the odds are diminished if Biden somehow doesn’t make it and Trump runs against a much younger candidate, though the Democrats don’t exactly have a deep bench.

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But is the media-political complex just a tad overconfident in its deeply held belief that Trump can’t eke out another Electoral College win?

I’m not saying it will happen. I’m not saying it should happen. But is it really impossible?

Raleigh, North Carolina, just had its bloodiest year in recent history, and it is likely that a police staffing crisis and ongoing anti-cop sentiment led to the spike in violence, one expert told Fox News Digital.

“Raleigh, like police forces all over the country, has had staffing problems,” said Jon Guze, senior fellow in legal studies at the John Locke Foundation, a North Carolina-based conservative think tank.

Raleigh recorded 49 homicides in 2022, a more than 48% increase from the 33 homicides reported in 2021. Last year’s tally was the highest in a single year since at least 1995, according to FBI data that tracks violent crimes, WRAL reported this month.

“The evidence has just been piling up now for more than 20 years that police presence deters crime,” Guze said. “And if you don’t have enough officers, especially in high-crime, high-disorder neighborhoods, you’re going to get more crime of all kinds, and especially homicides.”

DEMOCRAT-RUN TOURIST TOWN IN NORTH CAROLINA SEES VIOLENT CRIME SPIKE AS POLICE DWINDLE: ‘PERFECT STORM’

Skyline of downtown Raleigh, N.C.
(Walter Bibikow via Getty Images)

The 49 homicides happened in 43 incidents, according to WRAL. They included two officer-involved shootings, four cases in which there were no arrests, 26 cases cleared by arrests and 11 pending cases. The data show the police department has a clearance rate of 74%.

“Our clearance rate has typically been over 95%, and we are confident that we will continue that trend,” Raleigh Police Lt. Jason Borneo told WRAL.

Various cities across the country have been rocked by violent crime increases since 2020, when protests and riots exploded across the country following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns upended day-to-day life. Nationally, murders increased by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to the prior year, marking the largest single-year increase in killings since the FBI began tracking such crimes.

AFTER 2020’S RECORD BLOODY YEAR, LARGE CITIES ACROSS THE NATION STILL FACE SKY-HIGH MURDER RATES 2 YEARS LATER

Some experts have attributed the murder spike to a range of issues that collided that year, including anti-police rhetoric voiced by Black Lives Matter and defund the police proponents, the pandemic, a culture of lawlessness promoted by liberal district attorneys and the “Ferguson effect,” when police pull back and violent crimes spike.

Riot police advance toward protesters in Minneapolis May 30, 2020.
(Salwan Georges/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Before the pandemic and riots of 2020, Raleigh had 29 homicides in 2019, 17 homicides in 2018 and 27 homicides in 2017.

MASSIVE INCREASE IN BLACK AMERICANS MURDERED WAS RESULT OF DEFUND POLICE MOVEMENT: EXPERTS

Guze said he penned a report after Floyd’s death predicting crime would skyrocket as calls to defund the police rang out from coast to coast.

Demonstrators hold a sign saying “defund the police” during a protest over the death of a Black man, Daniel Prude, after police put a spit hood over his head during an arrest in Rochester, N.Y., Sept. 6, 2020.
(REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

“Far from solving problems like police misconduct and over-incarceration, spending reductions will make those problems worse and will, moreover, inflict additional harm on the communities that have already been harmed the most by the turmoil that followed Floyd’s death,” Guze wrote June 11, 2020. 

“If we want to improve conditions in those communities and ensure there are fewer instances of police misconduct and less incarceration, we need to hire more police officers. And we need to pay them more.”

FBI’S NATIONAL CRIME DATA FOR 2021 INCOMPLETE, LACKS DATA FROM NEARLY 40% OF POLICE NATIONWIDE

He told Fox News Digital this week that “of course we have” had that crime spike and it has “affected many, many cities now.”

Raleigh Police fire tear gas to disperse a crowd of demonstrators in front of the First Baptist Church at the corner of South Wilmington and East Morgan streets May 31, 2020, in Raleigh, N.C.
(Robert Willett/Raleigh News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

For Raleigh, Guze said the homicide figure is a “little puzzling” because the city never defunded its police, and the homicide spike is occurring years after other cities already saw increases take hold.

“It’s worrying, of course, but the other thing I think is important to keep in mind is we’re starting at a very low base compared to an awful lot of cities. North Carolina has been lucky. None of our cities have got homicide rates that compare with places like my own hometown St. Louis.”

Guze said North Carolina’s capital, which has a population of roughly 469,000 people, is far smaller than cities often in the news for murders, such as Chicago or New York City. And since Raleigh is starting from a lower base of murders, “that means that any increase can look more significant than it is.”

NORTH CAROLINA PREGNANCY CENTER DEFIANT AFTER PRO-ABORTION VANDALISM: ‘SPIRITUAL WARFARE’

“That said, though, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we’re just lagging a little bit,” the legal fellow said, explaining neighboring Durham saw a spike in murders happen sooner after 2020.  “And it may just be that Raleigh is catching up with the rest of the country as far as the impact of changes in policing and reactions to the death of George Floyd and so on.”

A police officer parks in front of the home of a suspect of a shooting that left five people dead and two others injured Oct. 14, 2022, in Raleigh, N.C.
(Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)

Raleigh has been grappling with staffing shortages with its police department in recent months, reporting it is 100 officers short as of December, Spectrum 1 News reported. 

“They’ve been short-staffed. And that’s going to have an impact,” Guze said. “Even if your staffing levels are where you want them, it makes a difference how proactive the policing is.

“We’ve known that for a long time, too. This goes all the way back to the ‘90s, that proactive policing — what some people nowadays would call community policing — that gets the police on the street in high-crime neighborhoods and sometimes even making stops. This makes a big difference.”

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Guze added that, unlike some other cities seeing crime spikes, soft-on-crime prosecutors are not playing a role in Raleigh’s murder spike and that he’s not aware of any laws at the state level that would encourage this type of lawlessness. 

Guze advised that city and state leaders should not “just wait and hope this mood changes at a national level” regarding police feeling welcome in communities again following the anti-police sentiment that erupted in 2020. 

“I think showing the police that we appreciate them, providing enough funding so that we can hire good officers and lots of them, I think will make a big difference,” he said.

Meghan Markle was noticeably absent from the spotlight as Prince Harry embarked on a media tour for his latest tell-all.

The Duke of Sussex’s explosive memoir, “Spare,” which was published on Jan. 10, sold 1.43 million copies during its first day on sale in the U.K., U.S. and Canada, making it the fastest-selling nonfiction book of all time.

Despite the book’s overwhelming success, sources recently told The Telegraph that the duchess, 41, “may have raised gentle concerns about whether it was the right move.” The mother of two, who was described as “media-savvy,” was “more wary than the duke about this particular project.”

GB News host Dan Wootton called the Telegraph report “absolutely fascinating” because he felt “it was the first sign of Meghan trying to distance herself from all of the collateral PR damage caused by ‘Spare,'” U.K.’s Express reported.

KING CHARLES III CORONATION DETAILS REVEALED; NO INSIGHT INTO PRINCE HARRY AND MEGHAN MARKLE’S ATTENDANCE

Several royal experts have wondered why the Duchess of Sussex was absent while her husband went on a media tour to promote his explosive memoir ‘Spare’.
(Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Royal author Christopher Andersen, who recently wrote a book about King Charles III, told Fox News Digital that he was not surprised the former American actress is nowhere to be seen following the book’s release. He suspected that she is sending a clear message – this was Harry’s work alone.

“Meghan clearly doesn’t want to make it look as if she’s somehow manipulating Harry, or that she’s had a hand in shaping his memoirs,” Andersen explained. “The Sussexes are very sensitive to the fact that their critics believe she has some mesmeric sway over him. The fact is, this is Harry’s story, and for better or worse he has to own it.”

Andersen also believes there’s a good reason why the former “Suits” star may have allegedly been wary about some of the contents in “Spare.”

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Prince Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ hit bookshelves on Jan. 10, quickly becoming a bestseller.
(Random House)

“What may be most concerning to both Harry and Meghan is the blowback they’ve gotten from people in the military who feel he was ill-advised to write about killing 25 enemy combatants while serving in Afghanistan,” said Andersen. “I can’t imagine if they’d had it to do over, that Meghan in particular would just as soon have had him leave those kinds of statistics out of the book.”

To promote “Spare,” Harry, 38, made solo appearances on ITV, CBS’ “60 Minutes,” “Good Morning America” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

In comparison, when Markle launched her “Archetypes” podcast, Harry made a comical cameo in the episode featuring Serena Williams. Additionally, when she promoted her children’s book “The Bench” at a New York school, her husband was on site to support his spouse. The outlet also pointed out that when Markle spoke to The Cut magazine, Harry “appeared from somewhere in the house” to tell the journalist that his wife “had complained after her photoshoot that she was a mom, not a model.”

“You can be both,” he said.

MEGHAN MARKLE, PRINCE HARRY REACT TO JEREMY CLARKSON’S PUBLIC APOLOGY FOR SCATHING ARTICLE ‘SHARED IN HATE’

Prince Harry previously made a guest appearance on Meghan Markle’s “Archetypes” podcast.
(Photo by Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

“The book was always Harry’s thing, in the same way the podcast was always hers,” royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital. “We didn’t see him in podcast promotion. Their PR strategy has never made sense to me, but they are clearly trying to build a Harry and Meghan brand and a Harry brand and a Meghan brand.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex is seen leaving “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Jan. 9, 2023, in New York City.
(Gotham/GC Images)

“The question is… What about an Archewell brand?” she asked, referring to the couple’s nonprofit. “The book has definitely hit their brand. In my estimation, they had everything they wanted one month ago after the Netflix documentary. Their story was out and garnered massive sympathy from even the most apathetic American viewers. The memoir undid all that goodwill, and the press tour has been an absolute cringe-fest.”

“Spare” is the latest in a string of public pronouncements by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex since they quit royal life in 2020. At the time, they cited what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of the duchess and a lack of support from the palace.

Following their exit, the couple sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview that was viewed by 50 million people globally. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spoke out again in a six-part Netflix documentary released last month.

PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE ‘SPARE’ FALLOUT THREATENS HOLLYWOOD FUTURE: EXPERTS

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a six-part Netflix docuseries last month.
(Netflix)

Following the book’s publication, several royal experts wondered whether “Spare” and its shocking claims would threaten the pair’s chances of becoming a power couple in Hollywood. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito, California.

“Since few would refute the assumption that Meghan is rather smart, perhaps she has witnessed their plummeting popularity in both the U.S. and the U.K.?” Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “She can see that the ever popular, and by some claims her rival, Catherine, Princess of Wales is ‘rising above the drama’ [as several outlets reported]. She has been seen ‘keeping calm and carrying on’… She was back visiting a hospital in Liverpool and a nursery in Luton. While she’s ‘onward and upward’ Meghan is sliding downward and dejected perhaps?”

A detail from the children’s book “The Bench” by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, which is inspired by her husband Harry and her son Archie, is pictured on display in a bookshop in London on June 8, 2021, following its release. The Duke of Sussex was seen supporting his wife as she read her book to children during a visit to a New York City school in Harlem.
(Photo by TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Getty Images)

“Perhaps Meghan, in addition to reading the polls, has heard of the great greeting Catherine received with huge cheers from the awaiting crowd when she arrived in Liverpool?” Fordwich shared. “So, while Harry is whining and complaining, Catherine is focusing on others, working hard doing her duty and raising her family.”

“Catherine has not been complaining and perhaps Meghan has seen how well this has served both her and the Queen Consort, Camilla,” Fordwich continued. “Being a dedicated mother, wife, daughter-in-law, public speaker and community worker – in other words, doing one’s duty – are greatly admired on both sides of the Atlantic, as polls have shown. Meghan might be watching?”

PRINCE HARRY SAYS 400 PAGES CUT FROM BOOK ‘SPARE’ BECAUSE WILLIAM, CHARLES WOULD NEVER FORGIVE HIM

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are seen attending the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Awards a month ago in New York City. The couple reside in California with their son Archie and daughter Lilibet.
(Mike Coppola)

“Spare” exposes deeply personal details about Harry and the British royal family. The prince made damning allegations of a toxic relationship between the monarchy and the press, describing how family members would leak unflattering information about other members in exchange for positive coverage of themselves. He specifically singled out his stepmother Camilla, accusing the Queen Consort of feeding private conversations to the media as she sought to rehabilitate her image after her longtime affair with his father.

Harry’s story is dominated by his rivalry with his elder brother Prince William, who is heir to the British throne, and the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. Harry, who was 12 at the time, described how then-Prince Charles broke the news of his mother’s accident but did not hug his son. Harry added that he and William both “begged” their father not to marry Camilla, worried she would become a “wicked stepmother.”

Tom Bradby and Prince Harry chatted ahead of the release of “Spare.”
(ITV)

The many claims in Harry’s book sparked nonstop headlines. Harry alleged that during an argument in 2019, William, 40, called Markle “difficult” and “rude,” then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry said he suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl. Harry also alleged that William and his now-wife Kate Middleton “howled with laughter” when he notoriously wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party.

Buckingham Palace officials have declined to comment on any of the allegations made in Harry’s book. A spokesperson for the king did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, which represents the Prince and Princess of Wales, told Fox News Digital it doesn’t have a comment. Allies of the royal family have pushed back on Harry’s claims, largely anonymously.

KATE MIDDLETON SAYS ‘TALKING THERAPIES DON’T WORK FOR SOME PEOPLE’ FOLLOWING PRINCE HARRY’S ‘SPARE’ RELEASE

Prince Harry talked about his drug use, seeing Princess Diana’s crash photos and his stepmother’s status in a “60 Minutes” interview.
(CBS Photo Archive)

The Telegraph noted that despite the book’s popularity, approval ratings have fallen on both sides of the pond for the couple. Palace sources insisted that with Markle backing her husband’s attempts in seeking peace with his family, she may not attend the king’s coronation on May 6.

Harry told ITV that he wants his father and older brother back, adding that he wants “a family, not an institution.”

During his press tour, Harry also defended his decision to write a memoir that lay bare rifts inside Britain’s royal family, saying it was an attempt to “own my story” after 38 years of “spin and distortion” by others.

Kinsey Schofield, a royal expert and host of the “To Di For Daily” podcast, told Fox News Digital she believes there are elements of “Spare” “that have Meghan’s fingerprints all over it.”

MEGHAN MARKLE, KATE MIDDLETON’S ROYAL TAILOR SPEAKS OUT ON FALLOUT AMID PRINCE HARRY’S ‘SPARE’ RELEASE

Prince Harry detailed tense texts allegedly between Kate Middleton, left, and Meghan Markle, right.
(Max Mumby/Indigo)

“The most obvious would be providing Harry with private correspondences she received from Catherine, the Princess of Wales,” she explained about the excerpts that detailed alleged tense texts between the royal wives. Schofield insisted “Harry and Meghan both knew that this book would ruffle some feathers.”

“Not wanting Meghan to be seen as the instigator, she might have been advised to stay in the shadows for this brief period of time,” she added.

Sources have told The Telegraph that it was Harry alone who made up his mind to share his story, spending two years working with ghostwriter J. R. Moehringer. They claimed the duchess stood back and instead, “offered her full support. They noted she “is immensely proud of his achievements.”

“Is this the way she would have approached things? Possibly not,” a source told the outlet. “But she will always back him and would never have got involved in promoting such a personal project. This was about his own life, his journey and his perspective.”

PRINCE HARRY SLAMS BRITISH PRESS, ‘SALACIOUS HEADLINES’ ON ‘THE LATE SHOW,’ CLAIMS HIS WORDS HAVE BEEN SPUN

Royal experts insist it won’t be long until the Duchess of Sussex makes an appearance again.
(Photo by Anwar Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images)

Schofield believes it won’t be the last tell-all for the Sussexes. According to Schofield, she would not be surprised if Markle released her own book in time as part of her brand. She noted that “correcting the narrative seems to be Harry and Meghan’s top priority – to an exhausting degree.”

“Did they anticipate becoming such a punchline in the states over ‘Spare?’ I don’t think so,” said Schofield. “But I think Meghan calls the shots and probably signed off on the book… I doubt Harry buys a stick of gum without his wife’s approval at this point. Or a new dog bowl.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.