Prince Harry is done filtering himself. After the Netflix docuseries titled Harry & Meghan received a gamut of criticism for not really revealing anything that the royals-obsessed audience didn't already know, the Duke of Sussex is committed to deliver.
His brand-new memoir, Spare, officially released on 10 January and full disclosure: I wasn't planning on reading it but thanks to countless explosive revelations and leaked copies online, I can't wait to have my hands on (an affordable) copy soon!
From his supposed strained relationships with several members of the royal family to allegations against him, Spare seems to shed light on everything the Netflix special couldn't.
Here are the 8 biggest revelations (as per reports) from Prince Harry's autobiography:
1. Seeking Closure After Diana's Death
Spare details the struggles Prince Harry faced trying to grapple with Princess Diana's shocking and tragic demise, when he was merely twelve years old. He recounts several ways in which he tried to seek closure.
In an exclusive excerpt, PEOPLE revealed how a 23-year-old Duke Of Sussex attempted to relive his mother's final moments, leading up to the morbid car accident. While attending the 2007 Rugby World Cup semifinal in Paris, Harry drove through the same tunnel where his mother died 10 years prior, at the exact same speed when her car crashed.
I'd always imagined the tunnel as some treacherous passageway, inherently dangerous, but it was just a short, simple, no-frills tunnel. I got the closure I was pretending to seek. I got it in spades. And now I'd never be able to get rid of 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.PRINCE HARRY VIA SPARE
Later in the book, he narrates how his grief led him to contact a woman "with powers" who passed a message to him from his deceased mother. The Guardian reports that Harry was told, “You’re living the life she couldn’t. You’re living the life she wanted for you.” On Harry growing emotional and asking for "proof" or "a sign", the woman recounted a story that involved an ornament, claiming Diana knew about it because “she was there”.
2. William Turning Violent During Heated Argument Over Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle seated between Princes Harry and William.
(Image Courtesy: Pinterest)
If you're obsessed with watching trashy TV like I am, you're in for a treat! For Harry and William's reported "real dynamic" is no less than a made-for-TV family drama.
According to a leaked extract reported by The Guardian, Harry details an intense scuffle with his "beloved brother and archnemesis", Prince William in 2019, where the latter turned physically violent. The argument reportedly began with William calling Harry's wife, Meghan Markle a "difficult," "rude" and "abrasive" woman to which Harry retorted that his brother "was simply parroting the press narrative".
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.PRINCE HARRY VIA SPARE
3. Harry And William's Disapproval Of Queen Consort, Camilla
PEOPLE reports how in his memoir, Harry recalled how both him and William were initially resistant to their father, the now-King Charles III marrying Camilla Parker-Bowles, following their parents' divorce and the death of their mother, Diana in 1997.
Harry wrote how his initial fears of Camilla turning "cruel like all the wicked stepmothers in the stories" subsided, owing to private meetings with her. However, he wrote that he and his brother still opposed the union and reportedly begged their father not to walk down the aisle with "the other woman".
Charles and Camilla ultimately tied the knot in 2005, following which she received the title 'Duchess of Cornwall'. After the death of Queen Elizabeth III in September 2022, she is entrusted with the title of Queen Consort.
4. Tensions Between Meghan Markle And Kate Middleton
You wouldn't think a lip gloss would trigger a royal scuffle but here we are. Spare not only details Harry's strained relationships with the royal family but also Meghan Markle's. According to the New York Post, the book delves into more than one instance when tensions arose between Kate Middleton and Meghan.
Harry recalls that before a joint appearance at the Sussexes’ and the Wales’ Royal Foundation Forum in 2018, Markle asked to borrow Middleton's lip gloss because she forgot hers. Harry wrote, “Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced.”
Harry added how a few months post this awkward exchange, a pregnant Kate forgot something minor mid-conversation. Meghan joked that the Princess of Wales had "baby brain", causing a stir. Both William and Kate expressed that Markle's remark wasn't appreciated, leading her to remark that this is how she would've spoken to any friend of hers.
You talked about my hormones. We are not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!KATE MIDDLETON ALLEGEDLY EXCLAIMED AT MEGHAN MARKLE
5. Harry's Excuse For Wearing The Nazi Costume
When the Duke of Sussex was 20 years old, he was spotted wearing a Nazi costume, with a swastika on his arm. The young Duke was attending a “native and colonial” party hosted by Olympic show jumper Richard Meade.
Needless to say, he was subjected to a huge wave of backlash and criticism. This led to him apologizing for the “poor choice of costume”, adding that he was “very sorry if I caused any offence or embarrassment to anyone”.
Harry addressed this controversy in the Netflix docuseries, calling the decision to wear the costume “probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life”. However, in his memoir, he reportedly revealed that his brother, William and his wife, Kate were the ones to urge him to wear the costume, adding that they "howled" at the idea.
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.HARRY VIA SPARE
6. Harry's Time in the Military Service
Spare also reportedly delves into Harry's time in the military service, as an Apache helicopter pilot. He first served in Afghanistan as a forward air controller in air raids from 2007 to 2008 and then flew the attack helicopter till 2013.
The Daily Telegraph reported Harry revealing that he undertook six missions as a pilot that led to him “taking human lives".
He reportedly wrote, "My number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me," adding that eliminating the targets merely felt like removing “chess pieces” from a board.
The bold revelation invited a barrage of criticism, with the Talibans accusing the Duke of committing "war crimes" and "killing civilians". Taliban leader Anas Haqqani even took to Twitter to express his disappointment. Check here:
7. Cocaine And Other Drugs
It's safe to say the Prince Harry has reportedly fully committed to a no-holds-barred autobiography. In another explosive revelation reported by The Guardian, the 38-year-old confesses to using cocaine as a teenager, smoking marijuana and later trying magic mushrooms at actor Courteney Cox's house party.
Of course, I had been taking cocaine at that time. At someone’s house, during a hunting weekend, I was offered a line, and since then I had consumed some more …It wasn’t very fun, and it didn’t make me feel especially happy as seemed to happen to others, but it did make me feel different, and that was my main objective. To feel. To be different.HARRY VIA SPARE
8. How Harry Lost His Virginity
Ever wondered how Prince Harry lost his virginity? Yeah, me neither. But now it's public information! As per reports, Spare discloses the first time the Duke of Sussex had sexual intercourse - which in his words, was an "inglorious episode with an older woman." Without revealing her identity, Harry reportedly detailed the incident, adding that "it happened in a grassy field".
She liked horses, quite a lot, and treated me unlike a young stallion. Quick ride, after which she’d smacked my rump and sent me to grace. Among the many things about it that were wrong, It happened in a grassy field behind a busy pub.PRINCE HARRY VIA SPARE
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