Prince Harry’s firm stance on his memoir Spare has deepened the rift between him and Prince William, a royal expert has revealed.
Speaking with The Mirror, royal historian Dr Tessa Dunlop said that the Duke of Sussex’s comments that he has no regrets for writing Spare and that he has a “clear conscience” has fuelled the royal feud.
Dunlop further said the Duke sees the book as a way to correct false narratives, despite the pain it may have caused.
She noted that while Harry appears to be on better terms with King Charles, his portrayal of William as an angry brother with “alarming baldness” and his wife Kate Middleton as a wife who is “done up to the nines” has likely worsened tensions.
"Harry said he regrets nothing: ‘my conscience is clear’. Meghan has taught him that telling the truth ‘is the most efficient way to live’ and he won’t take back anything he wrote in Spare,” Dunlop said.
She continued, "He sees his biography as a ‘series of corrections’ to narratives already out there. Ouch. That is a bitter pill to swallow for anyone in the crosshairs of the book.
“Harry clearly feels he is now on safer ground with Charles, and any criticism of the King in Spare was relatively mild.”
Dunlop said that “siblings are a very different matter,” adding, “Cue Prince William, portrayed as an angry sibling with ‘alarming baldness’, married to an unsympathetic wife ‘done up to the nines.’
"Harry’s lack of contrition here guarantees the permafrost between the brothers will continue. For royal fans keen to support both men, the continuation of their Cold War poses an invidious choice.
“You either stand by Harry and his ‘truth’. Or you bat for the future King William, whose road to sibling forgiveness has just got that little bit harder."