Prince Harry refers to Prince William as his “beloved brother and archnemesis” in his forthcoming memoir, “Spare,” according to a new interview with Michael Strahan of “Good Morning America.”
In a clip of the interview shared on Thursday, Strahan reads the comment Harry made about William and asks the royal: “Strong words ― what did you mean by that?”
“There has always been this competition between us, weirdly,” Harry says, referring to the “heir and spare” dynamic between his brother and him. William is the heir to the throne and Harry is the so-called “spare” ― which is also the eyebrow-raising title of his book.
While publisher Penguin Random House previously said it was not giving advance copies of the book for publication ahead of its Jan. 10 release, Strahan said that he has read the entire memoir. He said the book covers Harry’s grief over the loss of his mother, his time in the military, his grievances with the press, and his roles as both a husband and a father.
Harry claims in the book that William physically assaulted him during an argument in 2019, according to an explosive story published Wednesday by The Guardian, which obtained an early copy.
The Duke of Sussex also confirms a longstanding story that William and his wife, Kate Middleton, encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a 2005 party, Page Six reported later Wednesday.
Bookshops in Spain began selling copies of “Spare” five days early, leading to The Sun obtaining a copy of the book and publishing some of the biggest stories from the memoir on Thursday.
Harry has two interviews set to air on Sunday ― exactly three years after he and his wife, Meghan Markle, announced they were stepping back as working members of the royal family.
Harry’s first interview is with ITV’s Tom Bradby, who is a personal friend of the royal. It will be followed by a sit-down with Anderson Cooper for CBS’ “60 Minutes.”
When the memoir was first announced, the Duke of Sussex said he was “excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.”
Penguin Random House said in a separate statement that the memoir contains “raw, unflinching honesty.”
“‘Spare’ is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” the company wrote.