Prince Harry news – live: Duke ‘claims Nazi costume made William and Kate howl’

Prince Harry has reportedly claimed that his brother Prince William and Princess Kate encouraged him to dress up as a Nazi soldier, in an incident he has described as “one of the biggest mistakes in my life”.

In his forthcoming memoir, Spare, the Duke of Sussex alleges that the couple advised him to pick the Nazi uniform over a pilot costume, and later “howled” when they saw Harry – aged 20 – wearing the outfit ahead of the “native and colonial” party in 2005, according to Page Six.

In another explosive allegation, Harry is reported by The Guardian to claim in the book that his brother physically attacked him during an argument in 2019 over the Duke of Sussex’s marriage to Meghan Markle, who William allegedly called “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

Harry reportedly claims: “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.”

Key Points

• Prince Harry ‘claims brother physically attacked him in row about marriage’

• What to expect from Duke of Sussex’s new book, Spare

• King Charles asked sons not to make his final years ‘a misery’, book reportedly claims

• Harry rejects suggestion he is invading his family’s privacy

Harry ‘claims William encouraged him to wear Nazi soldier costume’ in new book

12:07 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry’s forthcoming memoir reportedly includes a claim that Prince William and Kate encouraged him to wear the infamous Nazi soldier costume to a party in 2005 – a decision he has described as “probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life”.

The Duke of Sussex was aged 20 when he was photographed wearing the costume, complete with a swastika on his arm, to a “native and colonial” party hosted by Olympic show jumper Richard Meade.

Page Six said it had obtained a copy of Spare and quoted Harry as claiming he had been choosing between a pilot uniform or a Nazi uniform, writing: “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,” the 38-year-old continues.

William also attended the costume party, dressed in a lion outfit. The Independent has contacted Kensington Palace for comment.

My colleague Maanya Sachdeva reports:

Harry ‘claims William encouraged him to wear Nazi soldier costume’ in new book

Comment | If Harry really wants his family back, he’d be smart to stop talking so much

11:42 , Andy Gregory

Ahead of the publication of Prince Harry’s new book, our relationships writer Olivia Petter offers her analysis that “after all of this media face time”, the Duke of Sussex risks winding up “without the one thing he wants most in the world: his family”.

She writes: “Anyone who has ever argued with a loved one will know too well that third-party interference rarely helps, let alone when that third party is everyone in existence.

“Think about all the times you’ve criticised one family member behind their back to another: did it help alleviate tensions? Of course it didn’t. It probably just created more of it. Everyone has their own version of events, or a narrative they feel comfortable presenting to the world. And it will, in all likeliness, differ significantly from the narrative of the person you’re at odds with.

“When it comes to Harry and Meghan, we’ve so far only heard one story; based on royal history – and a firm ‘never complain, never explain’ protocol – I doubt we’ll get another.”

You can read her thinking in full here:

If Harry really wants his family back, he’d be smart to stop talking so much

Prince Harry says he and Meghan have been portrayed as ‘villians'

11:17 , Andy Gregory

In the first trailer for ITV’s upcoming interview with Prince Harry, the royal claims that he and Meghan Markle have been portrayed as “villains”.

Meanwhile, he alleges that “they have shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile”. It is unclear who he is referring to when he says “they”.

“I would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back,” he says, adding: “It never needed to be this way.”

The second trailer has been released today.

My colleague Ellie Muir has the full report:

Prince Harry says he wants ‘a family, not an institution’

Prince Harry’s new book ‘likely to spark serious furore’, report claims

11:01 , Andy Gregory

In its report detailing alleged claims of an attack by Prince William on his brother, The Guardian, claims that Prince Harry’s new autobiography “is likely to spark a serious furore for the British royal family”.

The newspaper, which claims to have obtained a copy ahead of the book’s publication on 10 January, called it “a remarkable volume”, which “extensively” covers allegations made by the couple in their Oprah Winfrey and Netflix interviews, including Meghan Markle’s thoughts of suicide and alleged racism within royal circles.

What is the history of the two princes’ relationship?

10:46 , Reuters

Prince Harry and Prince William were once seen as very close after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997.

But the brothers have fallen out since Harry married Meghan Markle, a former actress, in 2018 and the couple then stepped back from royal duties to move to California two years later.

Since their departure, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as the couple are officially known, have delivered stinging criticism of the Windsors and the British monarchy which has included accusations of racism – which William himself has dismissed.

Last month, their six-part Netflix documentary, which attracted record audiences, aired with renewed accusations including that William had screamed at Harry during a crisis summit to discuss his future.

The main criticism from Harry and Meghan is that royal aides not only refused to hit back at hostile, inaccurate press coverage but were complicit in leaking negative stories to protect other royals, most notably William.

Prince Harry reportedly claims father King Charles referred to him as ‘spare’ at birth

10:32 , Andy Gregory

The title of Prince Harry’s forthcoming book, Spare, comes from an oft-cited quote in British aristocratic circles about the need for an heir, and a spare.

According to the Guardian, which has obtained a copy, the book’s “unifying theme” is of the Duke of Sussex’s “resentment of being the ‘spare’.

Harry is reported to claim that, on the day he was born to his mother, Princess Diana, his father King Charles told her: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare – my work is done.”

King Charles asked Harry and William not to ‘make my final years a misery’, reports say

10:15 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has reportedly claimed that King Charles asked him and Prince William not to “make my final years a misery” at Prince Philip’s funeral last year, writes my colleague Maanya Sachdeva.

According to The Guardian, which said it had obtained a copy of the Duke of Sussex’s autobiography ahead of publication on 10 January, Spare includes Harry’s “unsparing” retelling of private scenes and conversations between senior royals.

One such moment occurred after the Duke of Edinburgh’s Windsor Castle funeral in March 2021, when Charles reportedly “stood between” Harry and William “looking up at our flushed faces”, the King’s younger son wrote.

“Please boys,” Harry quotes Charles as saying, “Don’t make my final years a misery.”

Charles asked Harry and William not to ‘make my final years a misery’, reports say

Prince Harry says he still believes in the monarchy

09:58 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has said that he still believes in the monarchy – but does not know whether he will play a role in its future.

In a forthcoming interview with ITV, the Duke of Sussex – who “stepped back” from his position as a senior royal in January 2020 alongside his wife Meghan Markle – was asked whether he still believed in his family’s constitutional role.

Answering that he did, the duke was then pressed on whether he himself would play a role in the monarchy’s future, to which he replied: “I don’t know.”

Prince Harry says ‘a lot can happen’ prior to King Charles’s coronation

09:40 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has said that “a lot can happen between now and then” when asked whether he will attend his father King Charles’s coronation in May.

A trailed clip of ITV’s upcoming broadcast, Harry: The Interview, shows Tom Bradby asking the Duke of Sussex whether he will attend the ceremony if he receives an invite.

“There’s a lot that can happen between now and then,” the duke replies. “But, the door is always open. The ball is in their court. There’s a lot to be discussed and I really hope that they’re willing to sit down and talk about it.”

Prince Harry rejects suggestion he is invading his family’s privacy

09:24 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has claimed that those who accuse him of invading his family’s privacy either “don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family have been briefing the press”.

In a second trailer released by ITV for the Duke of Sussex’s forthcoming interview with Tom Bradby, due for broadcast on Sunday, in which he questions the royal about his decision to discuss his family relationships publicly in his new book, Harry says: “I don’t know how staying silent is ever going to make things better.”

Put to him that Prince William might question how his brother could “do this to me after everything” they went through together, the duke replies: “He would probably say all sorts of different things.”

Confronted with the fact that his new book will spark accusations that, after railing against invasions of privacy all his life, he is now “invading the privacy of [his] nearest and dearest without permission”, the royal retorts: “That would be the accusation from people that don’t understand or don’t want to believe that my family have been briefing the press.”

Meghan Markle was ‘terribly sad’ about alleged attack, book reportedly claims

09:09 , Andy Gregory

After the alleged attack by his brother, Prince Harry claims in his book that he was left with visible “scrapes and bruises” on his back, according to The Guardian.

The Duke of Sussex reportedly claims that he told his wife Meghan Markle of the alleged attack after she noticed the marks on his back, and that she “wasn’t that surprised, and wasn’t all that angry” but was “terribly sad”.

Prince Harry ‘questioned brother’s attempt to help him’ prior to alleged attack

08:54 , Andy Gregory

Here are more details on the alleged row between the two brothers at Nottingham Cottage in 2019.

Prince William claimed he was trying to help his younger brother, the book reportedly claims, with Harry replying: “Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call this? Helping me?”

According to the Guardian’s report, Prince Harry said that his brother was angry and swore at him, and because he was scared, Harry went into the kitchen with William following him, before handing him a glass of water and saying: “Willy, I can’t speak to you when you’re like this.”

Harry then reportedly proceeds to detail the alleged attack, writing: “He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast.”

What to expect from Prince Harry’s new book

08:46 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry’s new autobiography will be released on 10 January, in 16 different languages, with an audiobook read by the duke himself, according to its publisher Penguin Random House.

The title is said to offer a personal insight into Harry’s life and, according to the publisher, it will be “the definitive account of the experiences, adventures, losses, and life lessons that have helped shape him”.

A source has claimed to The Sunday Times that the autobiography – which has been ghostwritten by Pulitzer Prize winner JR Moehringer – is “tough on William in particular” and “even Kate gets a bit of a broadside”.

King Charles supposedly “comes out of it better” than expected, however.

You can find out more details on its release here:

What to know about Prince Harry’s memoir

Prince Harry alleges William physically attacked him in new book, report says

08:42 , Andy Gregory

My colleague Graeme Massie has the full report on the alleged claims by Prince Harry that his brother physically attacked him in 2019 during a row about his marriage to Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry alleges William physically attacked him in new book, report says

08:41 , Andy Gregory

Good morning, we’ll be using this liveblog to follow the latest updates on the claims allegedly made in Prince Harry’s new autobiography, Spare.