The Biggest Revelations from Prince Harry's Book Spare

Kelsie Gibson
·8 min read

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Prince Harry
Prince Harry

Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry

Prince Harry isn't holding back in his new memoir Spare.

The unprecedented book, which was released on Jan. 10, gives a candid look at the Duke of Sussex's life in the royal spotlight.

In addition to discussing his mother Princess Diana's death and how it affected him growing up, he also details his strained relationship with various members of the royal family, including his brother Prince William.

Published by Penguin Random House, the memoir was first announced in July 2021. In October 2022, Penguin Random House revealed the book's title would be Spare, a nod to the "heir and the spare" adage, pointing to different destinies that have separated Harry and his older brother William since birth.

Speaking with PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the book's release, Harry says his one hope with releasing Spare is to "turn my pain into purpose," adding, "If sharing my experience makes a positive difference in someone's life, well, I can't think of anything more rewarding than that!"

As for what he hopes his family's takeaway is from his memoir, he says: "I don't want to tell anyone what to think of it and that includes my family. This book and its truths are in many ways a continuation of my own mental health journey. It's a raw account of my life — the good, the bad and everything in between."

Read ahead for the biggest revelations from Harry's book so far.

RELATED: Who Is Prince Harry's 'Spare' Ghostwriter? All About J.R. Moehringer

Prince Harry book
Prince Harry book

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE The book jacket of Prince Harry's memoir 'Spare'

Prince Harry dubs his brother Prince William his 'archnemesis'

In a preview from Harry's Good Morning America interview, host Michael Strahan inquires about his choice of wording for his brother William, noting how he calls him his "beloved brother" and his "archnemesis" in the book.

"Strong words. What did you mean by that?" Strahan asked, to which Harry replies, "There has always been this competition between us, weirdly."

"I think it really plays into, or was played by, the 'heir/spare,' " he continued, referring to William's role as the future king while he has moved down the line of succession as William and Kate had children.

RELATED: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Netflix Docuseries: 22 Major Revelations

Prince Harry says that King Charles III declared him a "spare" on the day he was born

Diana Princess of Wales and Prince Charles with new born Prince Harry, leave St.Mary's Hospital
Diana Princess of Wales and Prince Charles with new born Prince Harry, leave St.Mary's Hospital

David Levenson/Getty Images

According to a leaked extract reported by The Guardian, Harry claims that his father King Charles III thanked Princess Diana for giving him a spare after his birth in September 1984.

"Early on, Harry recounts the story of how his father, now King Charles, supposedly said to his wife, Princess Diana, on the day of Harry's birth: 'Wonderful! Now you've given me an heir and a spare – my work is done,' " The Guardian reported.

The U.K. outlet adds that Harry's "resentment of being the 'spare' " is a "unifying theme" of the book.

RELATED: Prince Charles and Princess Diana's Relationship Timeline

Prince Harry drove through the tunnel where his mother Princess Diana died at the same speed

In PEOPLE's exclusive excerpt from Harry's memoir, he recounts the emotional moment he drove through the same Paris tunnel where his mother died in 1997, purposely asking the driver to drive at the same speed she was going when her and boyfriend Dodi Fayed's car crashed.

"It had been a very bad idea," he recalls in the book. "I'd had plenty of bad ideas in my twenty-three years, but this one was uniquely ill-conceived. I'd told myself that I wanted closure, but I didn't really. Deep down, I'd hoped to feel in that tunnel what I'd felt when JLP gave me the police files—disbelief. Doubt. Instead, that was the night all doubt fell away."

He continued, "I go the closure I was pretending to seek. I got it in spades. And now I'd never be able to get rid of it."

Prince Harry and Prince William asked Charles not to marry Camilla

kate-trooping-the-colours-2.jpg
kate-trooping-the-colours-2.jpg

Kate with Camilla, Harry and Andrew in 2011.

According to a leaked excerpt published by the Daily Mail, Harry recalled that he and his brother were initially resistant to the idea of their father marrying Camilla Parker-Bowles, following their parents' divorce and the death of their mother Diana in 1997.

Harry's initial fears that Camilla might be "cruel to me ... like all the wicked stepmothers in the stories" were assuaged by private meetings with her, Harry reportedly wrote, but he and William still opposed Charles walking down the aisle with "the other woman."

The couple eventually tied the knot in 2005; Camilla received the title Duchess of Cornwall after their wedding and now is Queen Consort following Queen Elizabeth II's death in September.

RELATED: Prince Harry Wants Archie and Lilibet to 'Have Relationships' with Royal Family

Prince Harry claims Prince William and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear his Nazi costume in 2005

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry join Team Heads Together at a London Marathon Training Day
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry join Team Heads Together at a London Marathon Training Day

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

In his memoir, Harry reflects on the controversial Nazi costume he wore in 2005, claiming that it was actually William and Kate who encouraged him to wear it, as reported by Page Six.

According to the outlet, Harry writes that the Prince and Princess of Wales "howled with laughter" when they saw him in the outfit in 2005. The outlet also reports that Harry claims he debated between dressing as a Nazi or a pilot for the "Native and Colonial"-themed costume party, and asked William and Kate for advice.

"I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said," Harry writes, saying he brought the costume home and tried it on. "They both howled. Worse than Willy's leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point."

Prince Harry felt he lost his brother 'forever' after his wedding to Kate Middleton

royal wedding 2011
royal wedding 2011

Andrew Milligan/Getty Prince Harry and Prince William

According to an excerpt of his memoir published by Us Weekly, Harry recalls that William's wedding to Kate felt like "yet another farewell."

"The brother I'd escorted into Westminster Abbey that morning was gone — forever," Prince Harry reportedly wrote. "Who could deny it? He'd never again be first and foremost Willy. We'd never again ride together across the Lesotho countryside with capes blowing behind us. We'd never again share a horsey-smelling cottage while learning to fly. Who shall separate us? Life, that's who."

Prince Harry added, "And I recall Willy walking her back up the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door, into the carriage that would convey them to Buckingham Palace, into the eternal partnership they'd pledged, I recall thinking: Goodbye."

Meghan Markle's comment about Kate Middleton's 'baby brain' caused a heated exchange between the duchesses

Per the Daily Mail, Prince Harry describes a confrontation between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle after his wife referenced Kate's "baby brain because of her hormones" during a discussion ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan's May 2018 wedding.

Kate, who gave birth to her third child Prince Louis one month before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's nuptials, decided to raise the prior conversation with Meghan.

"It caused such a huge row because Meghan was told that she wasn't close enough to her sister-in-law to discuss her hormones, and it wasn't the way people spoke to each other within the Royal Family," a source told the outlet. Meghan, in turn, was reportedly offended by the reprimand.

RELATED: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Relationship Timeline

Prince Harry claims Prince William attacked him during a heated argument over Meghan Markle

Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on December 25, 2017 in King's Lynn
Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on December 25, 2017 in King's Lynn

Chris Jackson/Getty Images Kate Middleton, Prince William, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at Christmas 2017

According to a leaked extract reported by The Guardian, Harry details a specific argument with his brother in 2019, which reportedly turned physically violent.

Harry claims the argument started when William 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 reports that Harry then accused his brother of acting like an heir, after which insults were exchanged. 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?"

Harry claims that he tried to diffuse the situation by giving William a glass of water before the situation escalated.

"He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast," Harry writes in Spare, as reported by 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."

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