Prince Harry accuses Prince William of physical attack
Duke of Sussex claims in Spare that he was visibly injured in row at his London home in 2019 amid tension around Meghan
An alleged fight between Princes William and Harry happened in the year that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were planning “Megxit”, the Duke’s autobiography reveals.
His memoir has gone on sale in Spain, where the Telegraph bought a Spanish language version.
A leaked extract of Spare, which will be published on Jan 10, claims that William shoved Harry to the floor in a physical altercation at Kensington Palace in 2019.
The Duke and Duchess’s plans to divide their time between Britain and North America first emerged that year, causing huge tension between the brothers.
His memoir has gone on sale in Spain, where the Telegraph bought a Spanish language version. Prince Harry writes in his book that William “knocked me to the floor” after grabbing him by the collar and breaking his necklace.
Prince William had gone to his brother’s Nottingham Cottage home, in the grounds of Kensington Palace, to confront him over his wife’s “rude”, “abrasive” and “difficult” behaviour, the book claims.
The extract describes William’s desire to discuss “the whole rolling catastrophe” of the two brothers’ relationship and struggles with the press.
But it claims William, now the Prince of Wales, was already “piping hot” when he arrived at Harry’s home. Harry claimed his brother was not being rational and a shouting match ensued.
The report states: “Harry then accused his brother of acting like an heir, unable to understand why his younger brother was not content to be a spare.”
Insults were then exchanged between the two before William claimed he was trying to help, which triggered an incredulous response from Harry.
Harry reportedly claimed the Prince of Wales swore and stepped forwards, scaring him.
He writes: “He [William] 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 dog’s 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.”
Harry writes that William urged him to hit back, but he refused. Shortly afterwards, his elder brother appeared to regret his behaviour and apologised.
Harry says William then told his brother not to tell Meghan about the confrontation. Harry said: “You mean that you attacked me?”, to which William responded: “I didn’t attack you, Harold.”
Harry said he did not immediately tell his wife, but she had noticed “scrapes and bruises” on his back. Meghan was not surprised, but was saddened by the incident, according to the extract.
Tensions between the Duchess of Sussex and the Royal family had increased in January 2019 after she claimed she was miserable and did not want “to be alive any more”, as she later revealed.
The couple’s son Archie was born that May, but it was during a tour of Africa in September that the Duchess went public with her difficulties, during a now famous interview in which ITV’s Tom Bradby asked her: “Are you OK?”
Relations between the Sussexes and the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reached a new low in October when news broke of Harry and Meghan’s plans to take a six-week break from royal duties by flying to Canada to spend time with the Duchess’s mother.
There were also reports of long-term plans for the couple to divide their time between Britain and North America, meaning a heavier burden would fall on William and Catherine.
In the same month, Prince Harry took the decision to sue Associated Newspapers after the Mail on Sunday published a letter Meghan had written to her father, Thomas Markle.
Harry said at the time that “my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year”.
It was a marked contrast to the Royal family’s “never complain, never explain” policy, which Prince Harry has gone on to criticise.
Towards the end of 2019, speculation was mounting about Harry and Meghan’s long-term plans, and on Jan 8, 2020 they formally announced that they would “step back as senior members of the Royal family and work to become financially independent”.
Days later, Harry said during a speech at an awards ceremony that “there really was no other option” than what had become known as Megxit.