Prince Harry’s memoir sheds light on bust-ups between British royals

LONDON/MADRID, Jan 5 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry says his older brother and heir to the throne, Prince William, knocked Harry’s American wife Meghan to the floor during a 2019 debate in his much-anticipated memoir. Thursday in Spain.

In his book “Spare”, Harry revealed as well How the brothers, the sons of King Charles, begged their father not to marry his second wife Camilla, now Queen Consort, and that he had taken cocaine as a teenager.

The book was due to be published on January 10, but the Guardian newspaper published leaked extracts overnight, and Reuters and other media have been able to obtain Spanish-language editions that were initially sold in Spain.

Details of its contents also come as ITV released a clip from an upcoming interview with Harry in which he said: Couldn’t commit May defended her decision to attend and speak at her father’s coronation.

Harry’s memoir details the death of his mother Princess Diana, his time in the army – when he killed 25 Taliban insurgents while serving in Afghanistan – and his struggles with the press.

But the most notable revelations concern his relationship with his family, which has hung like a shadow over the British royal family since he and Meghan left official duties in 2020 and moved to California to build a new life.

As is typical for the royal family, spokespeople for King Charles and Prince William declined to comment.

Harry, 38, wrote in his memoirs that his fight with William, 40, took place at their then London home in 2019 when his brother called Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

“He grabbed me by the collar, tore off my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” Harry wrote.

“I got to the dog bowl, which had broken under my back, the pieces cutting me. I lay there for a moment, stunned, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

William then challenged his younger brother to answer but Harry refused. William later returned to the scene, “expressing remorse, and apologizing”, Harry wrote, adding that his brother asked Meghan not to tell Meghan he had “attacked”.

William and Harry were once seen as close after their mother’s death in a Paris car crash in 1997. But the siblings have been separated since the couple stepped down from their royal roles when Harry married former actress Meghan in 2018.

In another section of the book, Harry refers to his first meeting with Camilla, whom Diana blames for the breakup of their marriage. Harry says he and William approve of Camilla but asked his father not to marry him.

“My father went ahead, even though Willie and I begged him not to,” Harry wrote. “Despite the bitterness and sadness we felt at closing another loop in our mother’s history, we realized it was irrelevant.”

Strong criticism

Since stepping down from royal life, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are officially known, have been strongly critical of Windsor and the British monarchy, including accusations of racism that William himself has dismissed.

Last month their six-part Netflix documentary, which attracted record audiences, aired with new allegations. William shouted at Harry During the crisis summit to discuss their future.

The main criticism of Harry and Meghan is that royal aides have not only refused to respond to hostile, inaccurate press coverage but have been complicit in leaking negative stories to protect other members of the royal family, particularly William.

“I don’t know how keeping quiet is going to make things better,” Harry said in Thursday’s ITV clip.

When asked why he was invading his family’s privacy, something he took up against, he replied: “It would be an accusation from people who don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family is briefing the press.”

The title of his book “Spare” comes from an oft-quoted quote in British aristocratic circles about the need for heirs and spares.

Harry says Charles famously told Diana on the day she was born: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and an extra – I’m done.”

It is unclear how much the revelations will resonate with the public. A YouGov poll this week found 65% of those surveyed were “not at all interested” in his upcoming book, while another found greater sympathy among respondents for William and his wife Kate than for Harry and Meghan.

Charles himself is still hoping for a reconciliation with his son, unnamed sources told newspapers this week.

In its leaked extracts, the Guardian says the monarch stood between her two sons in a tense meeting at Windsor Castle following the April 2021 funeral of her grandfather Prince Philip, husband of the late Queen Elizabeth.

“Please, boys,” Harry quoted his father. “Don’t make my last year miserable.”

Additional reporting by Daniel Trotta; Edited by Angus McSwan and Nick McPhee

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.