Royal commentator claims Spare ‘should never have been written’
Prince Harry and Prince William will “reunite” tonight as part of a memorial event in London for their late mother Princess Diana but once again, they will be avoiding each other.
The royal brothers will make an appearance at the Diana Legacy Award event. William is expected to appear in person to give a speech to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary and present awards to 20 recipients.
But Harry, who lives in California and has spent very little time in the UK over recent months, will not be present and will reportedly instead join a video call with the winners that will take place only after his William has left the ceremony.
It means they will miss out on the opportunity to reconcile and seemingly marks the latest example of the ongoing rift between them, which reportedly exploded following several claims Harry made against William in his tell-all memoir, Spare.
Daily Express US takes a look at five claims Harry made against William in his book from January 2023.
READ MORE: Prince Harry turns down chance to reconcile with William in major snub
‘He knocked me to the floor’
Harry’s most damning criticism of William came when he claimed his older brother confronted him in 2019 over Meghan’s treatment of palace staff.
The clash occured in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace where Harry and Meghan were living at the time and in his book.
Harry claimed in Spare: “He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dogs’ bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.
“‘Come on, hit me! You’ll feel better if you hit me! Do what? Come on, we always used to fight. You’ll feel better if you hit me.’
“‘No, only you’ll feel better if I hit you. Please…just leave.'”
Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, was released in bookshops on January 10, 2023 (Image: GETTY)
‘He was forging his own life’
Early in Spare, Harry recounted some of his experiences at school, and claimed William was at times cold towards him when he attended Eton College.
The Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir: “For the last two years, [William] explained, Eton had been his sanctuary. No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle.
“He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up…For Willy it was pure agony to wear the same blazer, the same tight shorts, as me. And now, to attend the same school, was pure murder. I told him not to worry. ‘I’ll forget I ever knew you.'”
‘He was my opposite’
Bizarrely, Harry took a swipe at William’s physical appearance in a part of the book detailing a meeting after the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip in 2021.
He wrote: “I looked at Willy, really looked at him, maybe for the first time since we were boys.
“I took it all in: his familiar scowl, which had always been his default in dealings with me; his alarming baldness, more advanced than my own; his famous resemblance to Mummy, which was fading with time.
“With age. In some ways he was my mirror, in some ways he was my opposite. My beloved brother, my arch nemesis, how had that happened?”
The relationship between Harry and William has seemingly sunk to new lows over the past few years (Image: GETTY)
‘He felt I got away with everything’
Harry recounted William’s apparent resentment that he appeared to face harsher punishments than his younger sibling.
At one point in Spare, the Duke of Sussex wrote about an argument in his car after which then Prince Charles to get out and sit in the back-up vehicle following them.
Harry wrote in his memoir: “Willy turned to me, furious. He felt I got away with everything. He stepped out of the car, stomped to the backup car with all the bodyguards, strapped himself in. (We always wore seatbelts after Mummy’s disappearance.)
“The convoy resumed. Now and then I peered out the back window. Behind us, I could just make out the future King of England, plotting his revenge.”
‘Shave it off!’
Harry described how he wanted to wear his beard on his wedding day in May 2018, which was something he needed permission from Queen Elizabeth II as it was against British Army protocol to appear in uniform with facial hair.
He said his grandmother granted him permission, but Harry claimed William ordered him to “shave it off”.
The duke wrote: “At one point he actually ordered me, as the Heir speaking to the Spare, to shave. ‘Are you serious?’
“‘I’m telling you, shave it off.’
“‘For the love of God, Willy, why does this matter so much to you?’
“‘Because I wasn’t allowed to keep my beard.'”
