Prince Harry Was "Embarrassed" to Have Will and Kate at His and Meghan's Less-Lavish Home

In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry speaks extensively about how differently he and his brother, Prince William, the heir to the throne, have been treated all their lives.

The title of the book is a testament to that, alluding to the way in which Harry has always been seen as a "spare" by his father, King Charles III, and the institution, while William has always been prioritized as the heir. That favoritism has been shown in many ways over the years, per Harry, including in the brothers' respective royal homes.

In Spare—a copy of which was obtained by BAZAAR.com ahead of its January 10 release—Harry recalls the time he first visited Prince William and Princess Kate's renovated Kensington Palace residence, Apartment 1A, and instantly felt ashamed of his and wife Duchess Meghan's Nottingham Cottage home.

Of the Waleses' home, Harry writes, "The wallpaper, the ceiling trim, the walnut bookshelves filled with volumes of peaceful colors, priceless works of art." He says, it was "magnificent" and "like a museum."

Meanwhile, he and Meghan decorated their much-less-lavish cottage with furniture they bought with the former actress's credit card. And in their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the Sussexes admit they did much of the handiwork—like painting—themselves.

"We congratulated them on the renovation without holding back the compliments while feeling embarrassed of our IKEA lamps and the second-hand sofa we'd recently bought on sale with Meg's credit card on sofa.com," Harry writes, recalling their visit to the Waleses'.

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