In his incendiary memoir Spare, Prince Harry takes aim at his older brother, Prince William, and even moaned about their childhood bedrooms at Balmoral Castle.
Prince Harry made headlines after the publishing of his tell-all memoir Spare, not least because he detailed a long-standing feud with his brother, Prince William.
In the book, Harry described minor sibling squabbles and even alleged physical clashes. Their problems appear to derive from their youth.
In one excerpt, Harry moaned about their shared bedroom at Balmoral, claiming that William, as the heir, was given preference. He explained that Balmoral had 50 bedrooms, one of which was divided for him and ‘Willy’, while adults referred to it as the nursery.
“Willy had the larger half, with a double bed, a good-sized basin, a cupboard with mirrored doors, a beautiful window looking down on the courtyard, the fountain, the bronze statue of a roe deer buck,” Harry wrote.
“My half of the room was far smaller, less luxurious. I never asked why. I didn’t care. But I also didn’t need to ask. Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare.”
In another part of the book, Harry claims that when he first arrived at Eton, William asked him to pretend they didn’t know each other. Harry wrote: “For the last two years, he 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 it up.”
Harry was not surprised by his stance, given that William reportedly “loathed it” when their mother, Princess Diana, clothed them in the same ensembles or when “anyone made the mistake of thinking us a package deal”.
Relations between William and Harry are currently at an all-time low, with some questioning if Harry would ever reconcile with the royal family.
Rumours circulated that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were hoping to spend Christmas with The Firm in the UK, but they instead spent the holiday season at their property in Montecito, Calif. Meanwhile, the Royal Family maintained a united appearance as they gathered in Sandringham.
According to royal author Phil Dampier, the Sussexes passed up an excellent opportunity to mend their connection with the Royal Family. He claimed that bonding over Christmas would have increased Meghan and Harry’s popularity.
“Harry and Meghan have let it be known that they see 2024 as their year of redemption, to which my reaction is good luck with that. It’s a trite phrase dreamt up by their Hollywood PR people and in reality means very little. Actions speak louder than words,” he said.
