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Princes Harry and William refer to each other as ‘Willy’ and ‘Harold’, it was revealed today when a copy of the Duke of Sussex’s memoir was leaked.
The revelation came in an extraordinary passage in Harry’s forthcoming autobiography, Spare, in which he recalled the moment he was physically attacked by his brother.
It comes days after royals said Harry’s book is so cutting to his brother that the couple may not be able to reconcile their differences after its release.
The furious dispute reportedly erupted at their London home in 2019, during which William, now the Prince of Wales, is said to have called Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
Britain’s Prince William and Britain’s Prince Harry walk side by side after viewing floral tributes for the late Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Saturday, September 10, 2019. 2022
In an extraordinary excerpt from his forthcoming autobiography Spare, Harry recalls what he describes as a physical attack by his brother, now the Prince of Wales, which he claims left him with visible injuries.
Harry accused his brother of “repeating the press narrative” about his wife before a shouting match ensued that ended in a physical altercation.
The excerpt has been published by the Guardian. It is not known how the newspaper obtained an early copy of the book, as the publisher has done everything possible to prevent leaks.
In a dramatic excerpt, Harry writes that William ‘he grabbed me by the neck, ripped my collar, and… threw me to the ground.’ The Duke of Sussex claims that he was left with a visible back injury.
The brothers, according to Harry, had met at Nottingham Cottage to discuss ‘the whole rolling catastrophe’ of their relationship and fights with the press.
When they started arguing about Meghan, Harry claims that William wasn’t being rational, leading to a shouting match.
The Duke of Sussex claims he gave his brother a glass of water and said: ‘Willy, I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.’
He writes: ‘He left the water, called me by another name, then came to me. It all happened so fast. Very fast. He grabbed me by the neck, ripped my collar and threw me to the ground.
‘I landed in the dog bowl, which broke under my back, the pieces cut me. I stood there for a moment, stunned, then stood up and told her to come out.
It was then that William told his brother to hit him back, a reference to the fights they had as children, Harry writes.
Prince Harry has claimed that his brother William grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the ground during a heated argument about his wife Meghan Markle.
When he and his brother started arguing about Meghan, Harry claims William wasn’t being rational, leading to a shouting match (Pictured: Harry and Meghan in their latest Netflix documentary)
The duke said that he refused to retaliate and that William left, before returning. ‘looking sorry’ and apologizing.
When the future king left for the last time, Harry claims that “He turned around and called her back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this.’
Harry says he responded with: ‘You mean you attacked me?’
He says that William added, “I didn’t attack you, Harold.”
According to Harry, he didn’t initially tell Meghan about the fight, but called his therapist.
The siblings, according to Harry, had met to discuss “the whole rolling catastrophe” of their relationship and struggles with the press when a shouting match ensued (pictured: Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry leave the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service held at St Paul’s Cathedral on December 14, 2017)
The spare is currently on sale for $22.40 on Amazon US and £14 on the UK site. The book has already become #2 on Amazon’s pre-order bestseller list in the US (pictured) and UK.
He writes that he informed Meghan of the altercation only when she noticed “scratches and bruises” on his back, adding that she was “not that shocked or angry” but was “terribly sad”.
In another excerpt, Prince Harry recounts a meeting with his father and brother after Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
He recalls that Charles stood between him and the heir ‘watching our flushed faces’.
Harry then quotes his father as saying, “Please boys, don’t make my later years a misery.”
The dramatic excerpts revealed just days before the book’s official release are likely to help boost sales.
It comes as Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir is already No. 2 on Amazon’s best-seller list for pre-orders in North America and the UK.
The spare is currently on sale for $22.40 on Amazon in the US and half the price of £14 on the UK site.
Spare’s hardback will be in UK bookstores when they open on Tuesday morning, with the eBook edition available to download on Kindle shortly after midnight the same day.