Prince Harry has claimed that his brother Prince William physically attacked him, according to the Guardian, which says it has seen a copy of the duke’s upcoming memoir, Spare.
The newspaper reported that the book sets out an argument between the pair over Prince Harry’s wife Meghan.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” the Guardian quotes Harry.
Kensington Palace said it “has no comment to make”.
BBC News has not yet seen a copy of Spare. Buckingham Palace, which represents the household of the King, has yet to respond to a request for comment.
The memoir will not be published until next Tuesday, but the Guardian said it obtained a copy amid what it called “stringent pre-launch security”.
According to the Guardian, the book says the row was sparked by comments Prince William made to Prince Harry at his London home in 2019.
Prince Harry, the paper says, writes that his brother was critical of his marriage to Meghan Markle – and that Prince William described her as “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly writes that his brother was “parrot[ing] the press narrative” as the confrontation escalated.
Prince Harry is said to describe what happened next, including an alleged physical altercation.
“He set down [a glass of] 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.”
Martin Pengelly, a journalist for the Guardian’s US website who wrote its story, said he did not approach Prince William’s communication team.
The reporter said that his article is “a report on Harry’s book, which he’s written, it’s Harry’s account”.
Mr Pengelly told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We carefully, obviously in reporting it, didn’t call it a fight because Harry says he didn’t fight back.”
Prince Harry writes that his brother urged him to hit back and he refused to do so, according to the Guardian, but Prince William later looked “regretful, and apologised”. (BBC)
