‘He knocked me to the floor’: Prince Harry reveals Prince William ‘attacked’ him in new book

Harry and Meghan eventually stepped back as senior members of the Royal Family in an unprecedented move, with the Buckingham Palace announcing on January 18, 2020, that the duo would no longer be working members of the British royal family, would no longer use their “Royal Highness” titles, and would be moving to the United States to build a life overseas.

Though the duo has previously spoken out about the circumstances in which the decision was made, this is the first time Prince Harry is detailing how his brother, who is the heir-apparent to the throne, reacted in the days leading up to the decision.

Prince William, Kate, Princess of Wales, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as the coffin rests in Westminster Hall for her Lying-in State. (AP)

The Guardian, which received an advance copy of the book, said Harry’s description of the confrontation with William forms an extraordinary chapter in which Harry recounts how the duo met at Prince Harry’s home in London in 2019.

Prince William had apparently visited Harry at his Nottingham Cottage to discuss “the whole rolling catastrophe”, but he was already “piping hot” — a colloquial term to refer to someone bubbling with anger — by the time he reached the residence, Prince Harry wrote in his book, as per The Guardian. Harry said that Prince William complained about Meghan, calling her “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”. Harry defended her and said William is repeating what the press is saying about her, triggering a shouting match, said the report.

As per The Guardian report, Harry, in the book, described what transpired as follows:

After exchanging insults, William said he was trying to help, to which Harry replied: “Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call this? Helping me?”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle depart via the West Door of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding, May 19, 2018. (Reuters)

Angered by this, William swore and stepped towards Harry, scaring the latter who went to the kitchen (with William in tow) and handed a glass of water, saying: “Willy, I can’t speak to you when you’re like this.”

“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,” wrote Harry, adding that though William urged him to hit him back as they used to when they were kids, Harry refused to do so. William soon left with a regretful look and apologised, wrote Harry.

Before leaving, William “turned and called back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this’.”

“‘You mean that you attacked me?’”

“‘I didn’t attack you, Harold.’”

Late Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry. (file)

As per the newspaper report, Prince Harry wrote that though he didn’t tell his wife immediately, she later noticed “scrapes and bruises” on his back. When he did tell her what happened, she “wasn’t that surprised, and wasn’t all that angry. She was terribly sad,” wrote Prince Harry.

The book’s title ‘Spare’ comes from an old adage that runs in royal families in which the firstborn is given prominence as they are expected to carry on the family line, while the second-born is treated as a spare — a back-up, in case something happens to the firstborn. The “second-class treatment” Harry received is reportedly a thread that runs throughout the book, with Prince Harry writing that on the day of his birth, his father, now King, allegedly told his mother the late Princess Diana: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare – my work is done.”

Spare, described as “a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” is published by Random House in the UK. It releases on January 10, 2023.

(With inputs from The Guardian)