London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

Prince Harry makes series of sensational claims in new memoir

Prince Harry makes series of sensational claims in new memoir

A stream of sensational claims and accusations from Prince Harry's autobiography, Spare, have been leaked.

The book outlines grievances and bitterness in the Royal Family, such as a claim he and Prince William urged their father not to marry Camilla.

But one of the most striking claims from Harry, first reported by the Guardian newspaper, was how he was physically attacked by his brother.

Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have both said they will not comment.

BBC News has not yet seen a copy of Spare, which is due to be officially released on 10 January.

The Guardian has seen the book, while the Sun and others obtained a Spanish version after it was published in Spain ahead of its official release date. Reuters news agency has also seen the Spanish version.

Further allegations from the book have been made public since the Guardian's first article on Wednesday evening.

Among them are Harry's claim that William and Catherine, now the Prince and Princess of Wales, "howled with laughter" after seeing him dressed in a Nazi uniform for a party, the New York Post reports.

There are also accounts of Harry's drug-taking and experiences as an Army helicopter pilot in the Afghanistan conflict.

Reconciliation and compromise are not on the agenda from the leaked excerpts. So far there is a tone of unresolved grief, grievance and accusation in Harry's claims.

It is intensely personal too, about his closest family, brother, step-mother, sister-in-law, father. There is an angry cloud hanging over these claims and it is going to be impossible for that to be ignored the next time Harry is seen with the Royal Family.

The coronation is only a few months away and the run-up could become a will-he, won't-he come story about Harry.

These are some of the key claims and revelations from the book:


Harry and William urged father not to marry Camilla


Harry writes that he and William begged their father not to marry Camilla, now Queen Consort, over fears she would be their wicked stepmother, the Sun has reported.

The Sun, which obtained a Spanish copy of the book after it was accidentally published ahead of its official release date, reports that Harry claims he and his brother had separate meetings with Camilla before she officially joined the family.

Harry alleges that he pondered whether she would one day be his "wicked stepmother", but that he and his brother were willing to forgive her in "their hearts" if she could make King Charles happy.

There is no detail given on when the meeting took place or how old Harry was at the time.

The two royal couples seen together at Windsor Castle after the death of Queen Elizabeth II


A woman with powers relaying a message from Diana


Harry describes how his sadness over the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, led to him seeking help from a woman who "claimed to have 'powers".

"Your mother says that you are living the life that she couldn't live," Harry says the woman told him. "You're living the life she wanted for you."

Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when Harry was 12.

Harry's account of a conversation he says he had with his late mother is short, the Guardian says. There is also no detail on where or when the meeting with the woman took place.


William 'knocked him to the floor'


Harry claims his brother grabbed his collar, ripped his necklace and knocked him to the floor at his London cottage.

The book sets out an argument between the pair, which Harry claims was sparked by comments made by William about Meghan.

Harry writes that his brother was critical of Meghan with William describing her as "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive".

The Duke of Sussex said that his brother was "parrot[ing] the press narrative" as the confrontation escalated, according to the Guardian.

Harry details an alleged physical altercation with his brother, William


Harry is said to describe what happened next, including an alleged physical altercation.

"He set down [a glass of] 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."


William and Catherine 'howled with laughter' at Harry's Nazi costume


The memoir also claims William "howled with laughter" when he saw his brother dressed in a Nazi uniform before a fancy dress party in 2005, the New York Post reports.

The New York Post reports Harry asked William, and his future wife Catherine, whether he should wear the costume, or dress as a pilot - and claims the pair laughed and said the Nazi uniform.

Harry was 20-years-old when the Sun published a front page photo of him dressed in the uniform at a costume party with a "Native and Colonial" theme.


Using cocaine at 17 and smoking cannabis at Eton


Harry says he was offered a line of cocaine at someone's house when he was 17 and admits taking the drug on several other occasions, although he did not enjoy it.

He writes: "It wasn't much fun and it did not make me feel especially happy as it seemed to do to everyone else, but it did make me feel different, and that was my main objective.

"I was a 17-year-old boy ready to try anything that altered the pre-established order."

He also recounts smoking cannabis in a bathroom at Eton College while a pupil, as the Thames Valley Police officers serving as his bodyguards patrolled the exterior of the building.


Killed 25 Taliban fighters in Afghanistan


While serving as a helicopter pilot in Afghanistan in 2012-13, Harry says he participated in six missions, all of which involved deaths, but saw them as justifiable.

"It wasn't a statistic that filled me with pride but nor did it leave me ashamed," he writes. "When I found myself plunged in the heat and confusion of combat I didn't think of those 25 as people. They were chess pieces removed from the board, Bad people eliminated before they could kill good people."

Prince Harry in Afghanistan in 2012


William suggested village chapel for Harry and Meghan's wedding


Harry claims the royal household dragged its feet over the date and venue for his wedding with Meghan.

He says when he consulted his brother about the possibility of marrying in Westminster Abbey or St Paul's Cathedral, William said it was not possible because they had been the venues for the weddings of Charles and Diana and William and Catherine, respectively.

William instead suggested a village chapel near their father's Highgrove House home in the Cotswolds, says Harry.

Harry and Meghan tied the knot at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in May 2018.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
Two Planned UK Datacentres Could Produce More Annual Carbon Emissions Than ExxonMobil's Entire UK Operation
London Surgeons Complete First Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Brain Tumour Removal
UK Services Growth Rebounds as Consumer Confidence Reaches Two-Year High
Ofgem Confirms Four Percent October Energy Price Cap Increase for UK Households
Government Considers Insolvency Law Changes to Bring Thames Water Into Public Ownership
Andy Burnham Signs Artificial Intelligence Defence Pact During Visit to Kyiv
Church of England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Historical Safeguarding Failures
Reform UK Proposes £30 Tax Credit for Long HMRC Telephone Queues
Greater Manchester Secures More Than £100 Million to Upgrade Victorian Railway Stations
×