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Prince Harry has detailed a 2019 physical altercation between himself and older brother Prince William as part of his soon-to-be-released memoir Spare, according to a leaked extract of the highly secretive manuscript published by a British newspaper on Thursday.
According to The Guardian, which obtained a copy of the memoir despite reports of extreme security measures put in place by publishers Penguin Random House, Harry describes an incident which took place at Kensington Palace in 2019 with his brother, which left him with "scrapes and bruises" after a clash about Meghan Markle.
In his account, Harry claims that William described Meghan as "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive"—something the prince describes as a "parrot[ing of] the press narrative" about his wife.
After an escalation in the discussions, which are said to have been arranged to talk out "the whole rolling catastrophe" of their public relationship, Harry is reported to have responded to William's insistence that he was helping his brother by saying: "Are you serious? Help me? Sorry—is that what you call this? Helping me?"
Per The Guardian, Harry writes that William became violent after being offered a glass of water and being told: "Willy, I can't speak to you when you're like this."
He continued: "He set down the water, 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."
The startling account ends with William allegedly apologizing before telling his brother: "You don't need to tell Meg about this," and adding: "I didn't attack you, Harold," when accused of doing so.
Harry goes on to claim that he called his therapist about the altercation but did not discuss it with Meghan until she noticed the "scrapes and bruises" on his back.
The personal nicknames used by the brothers (Harold and Willy) are just some of the numerous personal revelations expected to be made by Harry in the memoir.
Also to be published are accounts of deeply personal conversations, including one which took place between Harry, William and King Charles at the time of Prince Philip's April 2021 funeral.
"Please, boys," Harry quotes Charles as reasoning with his warring sons in the extract, "Don't make my final years a misery."
Reports of strained relations between Harry and William have circulated since 2019 around the time of the alleged attack, a period which saw Harry and Meghan leave Kensington Palace and split their joint household with William and Kate Middleton.
At the time Harry described the brothers as on "different paths" but that there was still a "love" between them.
Ahead of Spare's official release on January 10, Harry has recorded two sit-down publicity interviews to air on Sunday January 8 on either side of the Atlantic.
In a short clip released to promote his interview with Britain's ITV network, Harry told anchor Tom Bradby that he desires a family rapprochement, saying: "I would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back."
This followed a statement in which he said an unidentified "they" had so far "shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile."
In the U.S. the prince recorded his interview with Anderson Cooper for a CBS 60 Minutes special. During a pre-released clip for this, he described how members of the royal family regard their famed "never complain, never explain" motto in relation to the Sussexes public revelations.
"You know, the family motto is 'never complain, never explain,'—it's just a motto," he said before agreeing with Cooper said that on the contrary there was "endless" complaining and explaining to the British press.
Prince Harry's memoir Spare is released globally on January 10.
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and representatives of Prince Harry and Penguin Random House for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more