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Prince Harry calls William his ‘sworn enemy’ in his memoir

January 5, 2023

Prince William and Prince Harry, here seen mourning their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September, have a long-fractured relationship, according to Harry’s memoir Spare. (Photo: Emilio Morenatti/Pool via REUTERS)

Prince Harry calls his estranged brother Prince William his ‘sworn enemy’ in his new memoir, Spare.

This detail, revealed in a preview of his hello america interview, is just one of many bombshells in the book, which comes out on Tuesday. He also allegedly claimed that William and Kate Middleton urged him to wear the Nazi costume to a party in 2005 and that William physically attacked him in 2019 in an argument over Meghan Markle.

In addition to upcoming interviews with Anderson Cooper for 60 minutes and Tom Bradby for ITV in the UK, the British royal sat down for an interview with CMGby Michael Strahan, airing Monday.

“You refer to your brother as your ‘beloved brother’ and your ‘sworn enemy,'” Strahan asks him in a clip. “Strong words. What did you mean by that?

“There’s always been this competition between us,” replied the youngest son of King Charles and the late Princess Diana. “Weirdly. I think that really plays into or is played into the heir reserve relationship,” which puts William in line for the throne after Charles.

During the conversation, Harry told Strahan he believed sharing “the truth” was what would ultimately bring peace to the fractured relationship he had with his family.

“At the end of the day it all comes down to, I don’t think we can ever have peace with my family unless the truth is out there,” said Harry, who left England in 2020. and settled in Markle’s home state of California with their two children.

Strahan said he read the book cover to cover and promised jaws would drop when it came out. “He’s not holding anything back,” teased the co-anchor.

This comes amid leaks of the book to the press, including several wild stories. One, published by Page Six, claims that Harry laid some of the blame for the infamous Nazi costume incident on his brother and sister-in-law. Harry, who was 20 at the time, wore the costume, which had a swastika on the arm, to an ‘indigenous and colonial’ themed party, which William also attended.

Harry, who publicly apologized for the offensive posting at the time and recently called it “one of the biggest mistakes of my life”, said for the first time that his brother and Kate had helped choose the costume. He was between two: a pilot and a Nazi. William wore a homemade lion outfit.

“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. The Nazi uniform, they said,” Harry wrote. When he got home and tried it on for them, “They both screamed. Worse than Willy’s leotard! Much more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.”

The outlet pointed out that royal historian Robert Lacey wrote in a 2020 book Battle of the Brothers that the first sign of trouble in the siblings’ relationship came after the suits scandal. While William helped Harry choose the outfit, Harry felt no support from his older brother amid public outrage over him. This left Harry feeling “alienated” and “resentful”.

Meanwhile, The Guardian obtained an advanced copy of the book, publishing a story in which Harry claims William physically attacked him at Nottingham Cottage, where Harry and Meghan lived as newlyweds.

Harry said William came over to discuss “the whole ongoing disaster” of their relationship. Markle was not present, but she was the subject with William who allegedly called his American sister-in-law “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”. Harry accused him of “parroting[ing] the story of the press” on the Combinations actress – and that he expected better. William said he was trying to help Harry.

“Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call it? Help me?” replied Harry.

Her response angered William, he claimed. He went to the kitchen of the little cottage – and William followed. He handed his brother a glass of water in hopes of calming him down by saying, “Willy, I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. He claimed that William put down the water and came to him.

“It all happened so fast,” Harry wrote. “So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my collar, and he threw me to the ground. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting me . I stood there for a while, dazed, then I got up and told him to get out.”

William left but came back and apologized. He then asked Harry not to tell Markle what happened. Harry pretended he didn’t do it right away, calling his therapist instead. He said Markle later noticed “scratches and bruises” on her back, and he then told her about the fight and she was “terribly sad”.

William, British Prince of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during the Long Walk at Windsor Castle, following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth , in Windsor, Britain, September 10, 2022. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS — Knowing what we know now, this reunion of Prince William and Prince Harry with their wives, after the death of Queen Elizabeth, seems even more awkward. (Photo: Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS)

Harry also recalled a conversation with Charles and William after Prince Phillip’s funeral in April 2021. He claimed his father stood between them, seeing ‘our red faces’ amid their tension and estrangement , and said, “Please, boys. not make my last years a misery.”

Also among the leaks, the British tabloid The sun got a Spanish version of the book. The outlet claims the dedication of Charles and William shades as it says, “Para Meg, Archie y Lili…y, for supuesto, mi madre” – which translates to: “For Meg, Archie and Lili…and, of course, my mother.”

Meanwhile, new excerpts from Bradby’s Sunday ITV interview with Harry have been released. In one, he asked the prince: “Wouldn’t your brother be like, ‘Harry, how could you do this to me after all? After all we’ve been through?’ Wouldn’t he say that?”

“He would probably say all sorts of different things,” Harry replied.

Bradby also asked, “Some people will say you’ve spoken out about invasions of your privacy your whole life and the prosecution will be here if you invade the privacy of your loved ones without permission.”

Harry replied: ‘That would be the accusation of people who don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family briefed the press,’ referring to his claim that the Royal Family fed false stories about him and Markle to the press.

He also said he wasn’t sure if he would attend Charle’s coronation in May – if he was even invited.

“There’s a lot that can happen between now and then,” Harry said. “But, the door is still open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to discuss and I really hope they’re ready to sit down and talk about it.”