As Its Title Suggests, Prince Harry’s ‘Spare’ Will Mostly Be About His Sibling Rivalry with Prince William
Harry allegedly feels bitter that he always “played second fiddle to older William.”
As the title of Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, might suggest, readers can expect the tell-all to “effectively be about the sibling rivalry between Princes Harry and William,” The Sun reports, with sources telling the outlet “it will reveal that Harry’s ‘bitterness and feelings of unfairness’ due to his older brother’s birthright to become King means he has always ‘played second fiddle to older William.’” (Marie Claire reported yesterday that it is indeed William who gets the bulk of the criticism in the book, a source who is familiar with the tome says.)
“Prince Harry’s book will take his war with brother William to a new level by telling all about their conflict,” The Sun reports.
“The falling out [between William and Harry] is to be covered in the book in detail, and what aggravates is it’s not an outsider revealing these private moments—it’s Harry giving his one-sided account of family affairs,” a source says. “Harry and William were meant to stick together and support each other. Their mother Diana always warned them they must never fall out because they would need one another. It is very sad it’s reached this stage.”
King Charles appears to have gotten off relatively easy in the book, with sources maintaining that the monarch “loves his son very much” and the door “is always open” to dinner whenever Harry is in the U.K. Charles’ one caveat? “Camilla is Charles’ red line,” a source says. “If Harry trashes her, then Charles could pull the plug, and Harry knows that. Harry had a difficult relationship with Camilla, who had an affair with his father when he was still married to Diana. But attacking Camilla would not go down well among Palace staff or his father, and Harry is aware.” (While we’ve heard how William, Charles, and the Princess of Wales fare in the book, no mention has been made yet of how Camilla is portrayed by Harry.)
While Charles seems to be open to reconciliation, The Daily Mail reports that William feels betrayed and angered by his brother’s attacks, and “whether Prince William would be so receptive [to reconciliation] is another question,” a source says. “Things are hanging on by a thread as it is after the past few months, and from the sounds of it, Harry’s memoir is unlikely to help.”
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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.