LONDON –
Prince Harry has claimed in a long-awaited new memoir that his brother Prince William assaulted and physically assaulted him during a heated argument over the strained relationship between the brothers, The Guardian reported on Thursday.
The newspaper said it had received an advance copy of the book Spares, due to be published next week.
It said Harry recounted an argument in 2019 at his Kensington Palace home in which he said William had called Harry’s wife, former actress Meghan Markle, “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”. Harry claimed William grabbed his brother by the collar and tore off his necklace before knocking him down, the paper said.
“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which burst under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” the book says. “I lay there for a moment, stunned, then stood up and told him to get out.”
William later apologized, the excerpt said.
Neither Buckingham Palace, which represents King Charles III, nor William’s office at Kensington Palace have commented on the claims.
The book, due to be released on Tuesday, is the latest in a series of public revelations and accusations by Harry and Meghan that have rocked the royal family.
Harry, 38, and the American actress married at Windsor Castle in May 2018. Less than two years later, the couple stepped down from royal duties and moved to California, citing what they saw as racist media treatment of Meghan, who is of two races, and lack of support from the palace.
They have since given their side of the story in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month that chronicles the couple’s rocky relationship with the British media and estrangement from the royal family.
In the series, Harry claimed William shouted at him during a family meeting and accused palace officials of lying to protect his older brother, who is now heir to the throne. Meghan spoke of wanting to end her life as she struggled to cope with toxic press coverage.
Harry has recorded interviews with ITV in Britain and CBS in the United States to promote the book. Both are due to air on Sunday.
In excerpts released in advance, Harry told ITV that the royal family had described him and Meghan as “villains” and had “shown absolutely no desire for reconciliation”. He told CBS that the palace’s refusal to protect him and Meghan from attacks was a “betrayal”.
Palace officials declined to comment on any of Meghan and Harry’s allegations.
The book also explains the reasons for its title, the Guardian said. It said Harry recounted his father’s alleged words to his mother, Princess Diana, on the day he was born: ‘Wonderful! Now you have given me an heir and a spare – my work is done.’
While William was destined from birth to be king, Harry – who is fifth in line to the throne after his brother and William’s three children – often seems to struggle with the more ambiguous role of ‘back-up’. He spent a decade in the British Army – years he describes as his happiest – before taking up royal duties full-time in 2015.
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