Prince Harry's Team Slams Royal Book's 'Gross Inaccuracies' About Alleged Prince Andrew Clash

If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, SheKnows may receive an affiliate commission.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s legal team is keeping busy with Andrew Lownie’s upcoming royal biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, even though the book isn’t even about them. 

This time, it’s Prince Andrew who is being painted as a spoiled royal, but there’s one particular story the Sussexes are crying foul over after an excerpt was published in the Daily Mail on Aug. 2. Lownie claimed in his book that there was a “heated argument” between Harry and Andrew in 2013 over Harry’s uncle talking behind his back.

The author also alleged that a physical fight ensued years later after the Duke of York called Meghan an “opportunist” and told his nephew that the marriage “would not last more than a month.” Harry reportedly went “bonkers” over Andrew’s comment.

While Prince Andrew has some pretty serious allegations surrounding him related to Jeffrey Epstein, and he has become quite a problem for the royal family, Harry is slamming the brakes on this particular story. The Duke of Sussex’s legal team sent a statement to the Daily Mail to counteract the book’s claims. 

“I can confirm Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry,” the Aug. 2 statement read. 

Harry and Meghan’s representatives are also standing firm, letting Newsweek know their thoughts on the book’s contents. “Such are the gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks made in the Daily Mail‘s story, I can confirm a legal letter from Prince Harry’s counsel has been sent to the Mail,” the second statement added. 

While it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that Harry doesn’t approve of his uncle, the Duke of Sussex avoided the alleged sex abuse topic with Andrew in his 2023 memoir, Spare. Still, many royal experts feel that Andrew’s reported infractions have been handled in a lighter fashion than Harry and Meghan’s royal exit.

Robert Hardman, author of The Making of a King: King Charles III and the Modern Monarchy, told the Daily Beast in January 2024 that Queen Elizabeth II’s relationship with Andrew often played into this narrative because he was her favorite son. 

“I’m sure she would have taken him at his word, as any mother would,” Hardman explained. “You have to remember that lots of people have said lots of things about the royals over the years that have not turned out to be true, so it’s not surprising that for the royals, blood runs thicker than water.”

But even with King Charles III on the throne, Andrew has been able to maintain his enormous Royal Lodge estate despite his eldest brother’s attempt to evict him. He might run out of luck when Prince William is on the throne, though. Harry and his brother seem to share a similar opinion about their controversial uncle. 

William was reportedly “dismayed” by Charles’ “leniency” when it came to punishing Andrew, per the Daily Beast in January 2024. Even though he doesn’t agree with “his father’s strategy,” the Prince of Wales has no choice but to follow along with the plan. “That’s not how the family dynamic works. Charles is the king, so William has to go along with it,” a source told the media outlet. “But he doesn’t have to like it.”

It seems that many people at the palace have a problem with Andrew, but no one is willing to make a move that will upset the balance in the royal family. For now, Harry is trying to keep his name out of his uncle’s reportedly sordid narrative, which gets messier by the day.

Before you go, click here to find out which tell-all books expose major royal family secrets.