King Charles and Princes William and Harry
(Picture: Getty Images)Prince Harry’s book is expected to add further strain on his relationship with his father after it was claimed it includes an account of an emotional conversation between the King and his warring sons.
Extracts published from the apparently leaked copy of the memoir, called Spare, recount a meeting between the three after Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021 when Harry recalls his father standing between him and his brother and “looking up at our flushed faces”.
He quotes his father as pleading with his sons and saying: “Please boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”
Publishing insiders have suggested the King comes out of the book quite well but the revelation of a private conversation is bound to deeply wound him.
It comes after criticisms made by Harry in his earlier Netflix documentary when he accused his father of lying to him as the family attempted to negotiate a “Megxit” deal for the couple at a crisis summit in Sandringham in January 2020.
He said it was “terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in”.
Harry has also previously claimed the King does not want to repair the family rift — allegations that have been denied by royal sources.
Those close to the King insist he has always made clear how much he loves both of his sons, keeping communication channels open throughout the past few years.
The King is understood not to have watched the couple’s Netflix documentary and will not read Harry’s book when it is published next week, but has stayed in contact with his son including several meetings during last year’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
He is said to be “saddened” by the couple’s criticism of the royal family but sources have made it clear he has no desire for further acrimony and would always welcome Harry back and has insisted they are invited to his coronation.
