I’m a royal expert – what Harry won’t say about rivalry with Wills… including savage quip that always won any argument
PRINCE Harry has launched a series of brutal attacks against his brother Prince William in his new ghost-written book Spare.
The Duke, 38, branded his sibling his “arch nemesis” and spilled all about their supposed fractious relationship.
Details of their feud emerged when The Sun managed to obtain a copy of Harry’s book after it was accidentally sold early in Spain.
Among the most sensational bombshells was the Duke’s claim that Prince William grabbed him by the collar, breaking his necklace, and “forced me to the floor”.
The brothers’ difficulties have been speculated about for years, but royal expert Ingrid Seward claims it has always been a tricky relationship.
She told The Sun: “Harry and William have always had this rivalry and the idea that they were always great friends simply isn’t true.
“I believe Harry’s life with William was a fight from early childhood right up until William went away on his gap year.
“After William returned Harry said, ‘I get on much better with him now. He’s changed a lot’.”
‘Longed to be King’
Ingrid, who is editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, says the brothers’ early life prior to the death of Princess Diana, in August 1997, was difficult.
She claimed Harry was “jealous” of his brother from a young age and believes he longed to be King.
Ingrid said: “As a young boy, Harry kind of hero-worshipped William, as younger brothers often do, but there was also a jealous edge.
“He was frustrated over not being Number One and William would regularly win arguments by saying, ‘I’m the oldest and I will be King.’
“It meant William could do what he wanted when they were younger, but as he got older the idea of being the future King intimidated him.
“Harry would say, ‘If you don’t want to be King then I will,’ which Diana found funny, but I believe there is an edge of truth to what he said.”
Ingrid says this was what mystified her the most about Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to “walk away”.
She said: “Harry loved soldiers, knights, castles and the pageantry of the Royal Family, which makes it strange that he decided to walk away from it all.”
Wills fight ‘very one-sided’
Harry wrote about an alleged 2019 argument with his brother in Nottingham Cottage, which ended in a scuffle.
He claimed William was “piping hot” before he arrived at their home, on the grounds of Kensington Palace, to discuss their deteriorating relationship.
According to Harry, it turned into a shouting match when William said Meghan was “rude” and “abrasive” before the Duke tried to de-escalate things.
After pouring William a glass of water, Harry allegedly told him: “Willy, I can’t speak to you when you’re like this.”
Things escalated once more with William apparently calling him “another name” and then Harry said he “came at me”.
“It all happened so fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” Harry recalled.
“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.”
Harry says William told him to hit him back but he refused and his brother left “looking regretful and apologised” for his actions.
Ingrid has doubts about the account claiming it is all “very one-sided” and “his version of what happened”, which may not be accurate.
She added: “Considering Harry was such a big, fit, young man I’m absolutely stunned that he cowered on the floor.”
Easter gift row
Harry also claimed his tensions with William and Kate worsened at Easter due to them being “apparently upset that we hadn’t given them Easter presents”.
He went on to write about an argument that led to Kate gripping a table so hard that her fingers turned white while she demanded an apology.
Ingrid said: “Easter was a really big thing for the Queen because of the religious ceremonies and the brothers would have gone to church as kids.
“It’s very strange but I suspect Kate and William brought Easter presents for Meghan and Harry.
“Maybe they expected there would be gifts for their children, they wouldn’t have cared about gifts for themselves.
“Harry conveniently left out that if you go to someone’s house and it’s around Easter and they have young kids, it might be polite to bring them something.”
It’s a stark change from Harry’s earlier relationship with his brother and sister-in-law according to Ingrid, who recalled them being “very close”.
“They were very close, it was always just the three of them and Harry was always around at their home,” she said.
“They would joke that Harry was always raiding their fridge and was always with them.”
‘Harry has no filter’
Ingrid suspects some of the less savoury details to emerge in the book could have stemmed from the way he communicates.
Among the most shocking are Harry’s drug use, losing his virginity in a field behind a pub and his fractured relationships with the royals.
Ingrid said: “When you meet Harry, he’s very intense. He looks you straight in the eye and once he starts talking he can’t stop.
“He speaks very quickly and I don’t believe he always considers what he is saying.
“It’s like he needs to say exactly what he is thinking and he’s incapable of stopping until he’s got it out.
“For example, with his anecdotes about drugs – a clever person would gloss over certain things or talk around bits you don’t want to be known.
“But Harry seems to have let it all come out and if he had been smart, he may not have gone into such detail.”