King Charles joked on the day of Prince Harry’s birth at his joy of having an “heir and a spare”, the Duke has revealed in his upcoming memoir.
Millions around the world are waiting to get their hands on the book, due out on January 10.
Its title is Spare, in a knowing jib at the term ‘an heir and a spare’, referring to the succession of power after the death of the monarch.
Now Harry, 38, has revealed the term has been in his life from the very moment he was born .
He wrote how the now King told 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.”
It comes as it was revealed Prince Harry claimed he was physically attacked by Prince William during a heated row about Meghan Markle in 2019.
In a leaked extract from his new memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex alleges a confrontation with his elder brother at his London home in 2019 left him with a visible injury to his back.
He claims the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor, the Guardian reported.
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.
The bombshell extract goes on to say: “But William, Harry says, was not being rational, leading to the two men shouting over each other.
“Harry then accused his brother of acting like an heir, unable to understand why his younger brother was not content to be a spare.”
Insults were then exchanged between the two men before William claimed he was only trying to help - a claim which Harry said he found incredulous, causing William to allegedly become angry.
Despite the revelations within its pages, a royal biographer does not believe it will destroy or damage the monarchy no matter what accusations and claims may surface against The King.
However, the Duke Of Sussex’s autobiography may cause concern among courtiers over its potential attacks on "being in the shadow" of King Charles and brother Prince William.
Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton said the British royal family will put on a united front as Harry puts his life stories on paper with his book Spare and on camera for TV interviews.
The Sussexes have already made waves with claims about Royal life in the 2021 Oprah Winfrey feature-length interview and in their recent six-part docu-series.
