First person Harry phoned after William 'attack' - before telling Meghan

05 January 2023 , 11:54

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First person Harry phoned after William 'attack' - before telling Meghan

The most shocking revelation to come from the leaked extract of Prince Harry 's book Spare is how the brothers' row over Meghan Markle allegedly became physical. Harry claims the pair were attempting to discuss the "whole rolling catastrophe" of their worsening relationship at Nottingham Cottage in 2019, when Prince William "attacked" him.

In a leaked extract from the book, Harry writes that William told him he did not need to tell "Meg" about this and claimed: "I didn't attack you, Harold."

Instead of telling Meghan straight away, the Duke revealed that he contacted his therapist first, and later admitted to his wife what happened when she saw the "scrapes and bruises".

Prince Harry has spoken about his troubled relationship with the Royals (ITV)

Despite the tight pre-launch security, The Guardian said it was able to obtain a copy of Spare five days before the explosive tell-all autobiography is due to be published, while The Sun found a copy on sale in Spain.

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have declined to comment on the leaked claims from Harry's book so far.

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Harry alleges the heated confrontation left him with a visible injury to his back after William grabbed him by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor.

Harry writes: "(William) 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."

William allegedly went on to call Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" – comments Harry told him parroted "the press narrative" about his wife.

Harry then accused his brother of acting like an heir, unable to understand why his younger brother was not content to be a spare, The Guardian added.

Insults were exchanged, with William saying he was trying to help and Harry replying: "Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call this? Helping me?"

In a leaked extract from his memoir, Harry has claimed he was attacked by brother William in 2019 (Getty Images)

The Duke said the comment angered William who swore while stepping toward him, scaring him, with Harry going into the kitchen and William following.

Harry writes that he gave his brother a glass of water and said: "Willy, I can't speak to you when you're like this."

He then tells how William called him another name and "then came at me" with it all happening "very fast" before the alleged physical confrontation.

The book is out next week (Penguin Random House)

The Duke writes that William urged him to hit back, citing fights they had as children, but that he refused and William left before returning, looking regretful and apologising.

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Other revelations from the book include how the brothers call each other "Willy" and "Harold" and that Charles pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral: "Please, boys. Don't make my final years a misery."

The brothers were arguing about the 'rolling catastrophe' of their relationship (Getty Images)

Meanwhile, US website Page Six said sources revealed Harry puts some of the blame for his Nazi uniform scandal on William and Kate.

He tells how he phoned the couple to ask them whether he should chose a pilot's uniform or a Nazi one for the fancy dress party and William and Kate said the latter, and both howled with laughter when he went home and tried it on for them.

Harry, then 20, sparked outrage and was widely condemned when a photograph of him in the uniform complete with swastika ended up on the front page of a newspaper.

He said in his Netflix documentary: "It was probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life."

Amid the claims, ITV released a new trailer for Tom Bradby's interview with the Duke, which will be broadcast on Sunday night.

Harry also claims William and Kate told him to wear the Nazi uniform (Getty Images)

Bradby challenges Harry on "invading the privacy of your most nearest and dearest without permission".

Harry replies: "That would be the accusation from people that don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family have been briefing the press."

The Duke is also seen saying: "I don't know how staying silent is ever going to make things better."

ITV News at Ten presenter Bradby – a friend of Harry's – says: "Wouldn't your brother say to you, 'Harry, how could you do this to me after everything? After everything we went through?' Wouldn't that be what he would say?"

Harry replies: "He would probably say all sorts of different things."

Harry: The Interview will air on ITV1 at 9pm on Sunday.

Laura Elston