We’re still days away from the release of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, but already there are plenty of bombshells being dropped in pre-released excerpts. The autobiographical work comes on the heels of the Duke of Sussex’s six-episode Netflix docuseries with wife Meghan Markle, Harry & Meghan. Despite its popularity on the streaming service, the controversial doc has received some brutal feedback from fans, and Markle’s half-sister called it a “series of lies.” Judging by the snippets from Spare, however, the criticism doesn’t appear to have deterred the royal couple from telling their side of the story.
Let’s take a look at some of the wildest revelations and accusations made by Prince Harry in Spare ahead of its January 10 release.
The Title Spare Is A Reference To A Hurtful Joke King Charles III Allegedly Made
Look no further than the title of the tell-all for the beginning of Prince Harry’s big reveals. Spare is apparently a reference to a cruel joke his father is said to have made after learning Princess Diana had given birth to a second son. According to the memoir (via The Guardian), King Charles III said:
Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare — my work is done.
That theme of being treated like the “spare” apparently runs throughout the book, and it’s not the only accusation Prince Harry made about the king.
Harry’s Father Also Made ‘Sadistic’ Jokes About Not Being The Prince’s Real Dad
If there is any hope of reconciliation between the Duke of Sussex and his father, the two will have quite a bit to overcome, as Prince Harry revealed another joke King Charles III made during his childhood, regarding public speculation about Harry's biological father. He wrote (via Page Six):
Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He’d always end with a burst of philosophizing … 'Who knows if I’m really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I’m even your real father?' He’d laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumor circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy’s former lovers: Major James Hewitt. One cause of this rumor was Major Hewitt’s flaming ginger hair, but another cause was sadism.
Prince Harry also reportedly pointed out in the book that his mother and Major James Hewitt didn’t meet until after he was born.
Harry And William Urged Their Father Not To Marry Camilla
There was also some tension between Charles and his sons regarding his decision to marry Camilla, “[d]espite Willy and me urging him not to,” Prince Harry wrote (via Page Six). He and William were apparently concerned for different reasons, however, as Harry wrote:
I remember wondering … if she would be cruel to me; if she would be like all the evil stepmothers in the stories. Willy had been suspicious of the Other Woman for a long time, which confused and tormented him. When those suspicions were confirmed, he felt agonizing remorse for not having done or said anything before.
Along with King Charles III, Prince Harry’s older brother appears to also be the subject of several stories in Spare.
Prince William And Kate Middleton ‘Howled’ With Laughter Over Harry’s Nazi Costume
Prince Harry came under fire in 2005 for wearing a Nazi costume to a Native and Colonial party, and while he has expressed his regret numerous times over the years, he reveals in Spare (per Page Six) that Prince William and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear that costume instead of going as a pilot. He wrote:
I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said. They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.
In the docuseries Harry & Meghan, the Duke of Sussex said he was “ashamed” that he wore that costume, calling it “one of the biggest mistakes” of his life.
William ‘Attacked’ Harry, Knocking Him Down In Argument About Meghan Markle
One of the wilder accusations regarding Prince William in the memoir details an argument the brothers apparently had in 2019, during which William allegedly called Meghan Markle “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive,” according to The Guardian. Prince Harry shared that he gave his brother a glass of water and said he couldn’t talk to him when he was like this. The excerpt continues:
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.
Harry apparently didn’t tell Meghan Markle at first that his brother had “attacked” him, but after she saw “scrapes and bruises,” he came clean. The Duke of Sussex apparently said she “wasn’t that surprised.”
Prince Harry Rode Through The Paris Tunnel Where His Mother Died
Harry said in an attempt to find closure over his mother Princess Diana’s 1997 death, he asked his driver in 2007 to drive at 65 mph through the tunnel in Paris where she had died, just as her driver had. He recalled (via People):
I sat back. Quietly I said: Is that all of it? It's… nothing. Just a straight tunnel. I'd always imagined the tunnel as some treacherous passageway, inherently dangerous, but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel. No reason anyone should ever die inside it. … I'd thought driving the tunnel would bring an end, or brief cessation, to the pain, the decade of unrelenting pain. Instead it brought on the start of Pain, Part Deux.
He apparently didn’t get the closure he sought, calling the experiment “a very bad idea.”
Harry Had Regrets About Googling Meghan Markle’s Sex Scenes From Suits
That apparently wasn’t the only bad idea Prince Harry wrote about in Spare, as he also admitted to indulging his curiosity over his wife’s love scenes in the series Suits. Meghan Markle portrayed Rachel Zane for seven seasons on the USA drama, and the Duke of Sussex said he needed “electric-shock therapy” after watching her get steamy with Patrick J. Adams’ Mike Ross. Prince Harry said (via Page Six):
I’d witnessed her and a castmate mauling each other in some sort of office or conference room. I didn’t need to see such things live.
In promotion of Spare’s January 10 release, Prince Harry will give his first interview of the year on CBS’ 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 8, before his GMA interview with Michael Strahan airs on ABC Monday morning, January 9. In the meantime, Harry & Meghan is available for streaming with a Netflix subscription.
