The Duke of Sussex has claimed Prince William and his sister-in-law Kate told him to dress up as a Nazi in 2005.
Prince Harry, then 20, caused outrage when he was pictured wearing the soldier’s uniform complete with a swastika armband for a fancy dress party.
But in his highly anticipated autobiography, Spare, he has reportedly blamed his older brother and sister-in-law for coming up with the idea, adding they “howled with laughter” when they saw him wearing it.
In a segment of the book obtained by Page Six, Harry reportedly writes about choosing the outfit, saying it was a toss-up between a pilot uniform or a Nazi uniform.
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said,” says Harry in his memoir, according to Page Six.
The Duke reportedly goes on to describe going home and trying the outfit on for them.
“They both howled,” he reportedly adds. “Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.”
The Duke of Sussex recently addressed the scandalous incident during the third episode of Harry & Meghan, the six-part docuseries which aired on Netflix last month.
He described it then as “probably one of the biggest mistakes of my life”, adding: “I felt so ashamed afterwards. All I wanted to do was make it right.”
Spare is due to launch on January 10, but has been previewed by some news outlets.
In another leaked extract seen by The Guardian, the Duke of Sussex reportedly claims Prince William once physically attacked him, over the younger prince’s marriage to Meghan.
Prince Harry alleged the confrontation took place at his London home in 2019 and had left him with a visible injury to his back after the Prince of Wales grabbed his brother by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor.
Harry further claimed William had called the American actress “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive” – comments which the younger brother said parroted “the press narrative” about his wife.
According to The Guardian newspaper, the “extraordinary scene” is “one of many in Spare”.
The newspaper said it was able to obtain a copy of the book despite “stringent pre-launch security around the book”.
Spare is described by its publishers as being written with “raw, unflinching honesty” and “a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination”.
Those who have already read it have suggested it is likely to exacerbate relations with his brother and sister-in-law.
“Generally, I think the book [will be] worse for them than the Royal family is expecting,” one source told The Sunday Times. “Everything is laid bare. Charles comes out of it better than I expected, but it’s tough on William in particular, and even Kate gets a bit of a broadside.
The source added: “There are these minute details, and a description of the fight between the brothers. I personally can’t see how Harry and William will be able to reconcile after this.”
Buckingam Palace and Kensington Palace have both been approached for comment.
