In his new memoir Spare, Prince Harry reportedly says he and Prince William asked their father King Charles not to marry Queen Camilla following the death of their mother Princess Diana.
In a leaked excerpt of the Duke of Sussex's memoir published by the Daily Mail, Harry says he and his older brother had private meetings with Camilla in an attempt for Charles to formally introduce his love interest to his sons. Harry says initially, he feared Camilla — then known as Camilla Parker Bowles — would be like a "wicked stepmother."
"I remember wondering...if she would be cruel to me; if she would be like all the wicked stepmothers in the stories," Harry reportedly wrote in his book.
According to the outlet, the meetings went well and Prince Harry and Prince William were not against their father having a romantic relationship with Camilla — but it was the step of walking down the aisle with the "other woman" that the brothers were opposed to.
Charles and Camilla wed in April 2005, and Camilla received the title of Duchess of Cornwall following their union. After Queen Elizabeth died, Charles became King Charles III and bestowed the title of Queen Consort upon his wife.
It was reported by The Guardian that Prince Harry also claims he was physically attacked by his brother in Spare, after Prince William arrived at his London home in 2019.
According to the newspaper, Harry claimed his older brother was already "piping hot" and called Meghan "difficult," "rude" and "abrasive," to which Harry replied that his brother was simply "parrot[ing of] the press narrative" about his wife.
The Guardian reported that Harry then accused his brother of acting like an heir, after which insults were exchanged and William reportedly claimed he was just trying to help.
"Are you serious?" Harry said in reply, per the report. "Help me? Sorry — is that what you call this? Helping me?"
After giving William a glass of water, Harry said: "Willy, I can't speak to you when you're like this."
The argument then escalated into a physical confrontation, per the report.
"He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast," Harry wrote in Spare, reported The Guardian. "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."
Afterward, Harry said he called his therapist for help, reported The Guardian. It was only when Meghan later noticed "scrapes and bruises" on his back that he says he revealed the incident to his wife.
"(She) wasn't that surprised, and wasn't all that angry," Harry said, per The Guardian. "She was terribly sad."
The Mail also alluded to William and Harry's strained relationship, claiming that the Duke of Sussex called the Prince of Wales his "archenemy" in the book.
This, Harry said, came to a head during a "secret meeting" with William and Charles at the funeral of Prince Philip in April 2021.
Harry described the whole event as a "duel" rather than a sincere attempt to build bridges, the Mail reported.
"I looked at Willy, really looked at him, perhaps for the first time since we were little, taking in every detail: his familiar scowl, which had always been the norm in his dealings with me," Harry added, per the Mail.
"My dear brother, my archenemy, how did we come to this?" continued Harry, who also called William his "polar opposite."
"I felt overwhelming tiredness," he said, per the Mail. "I wanted to go home."
