The Associated Press bought a Spanish-language copy of the e book forward of its publication in 16 languages all over the world on Tuesday.
Harry recounts a 2019 argument at his Kensington Palace house, by which he says William known as Harry’s spouse, the previous actor Meghan Markle, “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
Harry said William grabbed his brother by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him down.
“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” Harry says within the passage, first reported by The Guardian.
Harry says he had scrapes and bruises as a result of the tussle, for which William later apologised.
The allegation is one of a slew in a book that exposes painful, intimate – and in some cases contested – details about the lives of Harry and other members of the royal family.
The memoir is the latest in a string of public revelations and accusations by Harry and Meghan that have shaken Britain’s royal family.
It includes Harry’s assertion that he killed 25 people while serving as an Apache helicopter co-pilot and gunner in 2012 as part of Britain’s military campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
He said he felt neither pride nor shame about his actions, and in the heat of battle regarded enemy combatants as pieces being removed from a chessboard.
Harry spent a decade in the British Army – years he has described as his happiest because they allowed him a measure of normality – before taking up full-time royal duties in 2015.
The book recounts Harry’s decades of disenchantment with his privileged, scrutinised and constrained royal life.
In it he alludes to the book’s title, recounting the alleged words of his father, then Prince Charles, to his mother, Princess Diana, on the day of his birth: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare — my work is done.”
While William was destined from delivery to be king, Harry, who’s fifth in line to the throne behind his brother and William’s three kids, has usually appeared to wrestle with the extra ambiguous function of “spare”.
In the book, Harry describes his rebellious teenage years.
He recounts how he lost his virginity – to an older woman in a field behind a pub – and describes how he took cocaine when he was 17.
Neither Buckingham Palace, which represents King Charles III, nor William’s Kensington Palace office has commented on the allegations.
Harry, 38, and American actor Meghan Markle married at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
Less than two years later, the couple quit royal duties and moved to California, citing what they saw as the media’s racist treatment of Meghan, who is biracial, and a lack of support from the palace.
Since then, they have presented their side of the story in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and a six-part Netflix documentary released last month, which recounted the couple’s bruising relationship with the UK media and estrangement from the royal family.
Meghan, 41, talked about wanting to end her life as she struggled to cope with toxic press coverage.
Harry has recorded interviews with several broadcasters in Britain and the United States to promote the book.
In snippets released in advance, Harry told Britain’s ITV that the royal household had cast him and Meghan as “villains” and “shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile”.
In an interview with CBS, he mentioned the palace’s refusal to defend him and Meghan from assaults was a “betrayal”.
Palace officers have declined to touch upon any of Meghan and Harry’s allegations.
Since Harry and Meghan cut up from the royal household in 2020, the couple has launched a brand new life as US-based charity campaigners and media personalities.
Harry has spoken about his want for a reconciliation together with his brother and father, who grew to become King Charles III when Queen Elizabeth II died in September, aged 96.
The e book’s scorching revelations are more likely to make that tougher.
Asked by ITV’s Tom Bradby whether or not he’ll play a component within the British monarchy’s future, Harry mentioned: “I don’t know”.
Royals begin Christmas Day with mass in Sandringham
