The Duke of Sussex’s explosive personal memoir was officially released on 10 January 2023.
His candid, bestselling autobiography, Spare, caused ructions when he claimed that his brother, Prince William, physically attacked him and said that King Charles put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex and the Princess of Wales.
Harry also branded his stepmother, Queen Camilla, the “villain” and accused her of rehabilitating her image at the expense of his.
He also claimed that he and William urged their father Charles not to wed Camilla.
1. Prince Harry calls Prince William his ‘arch-nemesis’
In one extract from the book, Harry refers to William as his “beloved brother and arch-nemesis”.
When questioned about the quote in an clip from an interview Good Morning America’s anchor Michael Strahan, the Duke responded: “There has always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into or always played by the ‘heir/spare’.”
2. Prince Harry claims that Prince William attacked him
The Duke accused his older brother of physically attacking him during a confrontation at Harry’s home, Nottingham Cottage, in 2019.
Harry writes: “(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.”
3. William and Harry asked Charles not to marry Camilla
The Duke claims that he and William told Charles they would welcome the now-Queen into the family on the condition he did not marry her, and “begged” him not to do so.
4. Harry thought his mother Diana was in hiding for years after her death
The Duke says that for years he thought his mother was in hiding following her tragic death in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
In one excerpt, he writes that he admitted his thoughts to William, after his older brother missed a yearly ski trip to Klosters because he hated posing for photographers. Harry claims that William told him he also believed the same.
5. Prince Harry took cocaine when he was 17
In one candid moment, Harry admits that he took some cocaine and that a journalist threatened to publish a photo of him using the drug.
He explained that following the death of the Queen Mother he was offered a line during a hunting trip when he was 17. He also detailed a journalist threatening to expose it by threatening to publish a photograph of the Duke before admitting that it didn’t exist.
He wrote that it was not “fun and it did not make me feel as happy as it seemed to make others but it did make me feel different and that was my main goal. To feel. To be different”.
6. Prince Harry accuses Camilla of leaking stories to the press
Harry brandished his stepmother as “dangerous” in his book, claiming that she had “sacrificed” him on her personal PR altar and that Camilla was leaking stories about the royal family to the media to bolster her image.
7. The row between Kate and Meghan
Harry claims that his wife Meghan upset Kate, who had recently given birth, by telling her that she must have “baby brain”, during a phone call in the run up to the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018.
Recalling the conversation, Kate is said to have told Meghan: “We’re not close enough for you to talk about my hormones”.
Harry alleges that Meghan apologised but William “pointed a finger” at her, saying: “Well, it’s rude, Meghan. These things are not done here,” to which she responded: “If you don’t mind, keep your finger out of my face.”
