Prince Harry reportedly claims in his explosive upcoming memoir that he once feared his father’s second wife Camilla would become his “wicked stepmother”.
The Duke of Sussex’s tell-all autobiography Spare goes on sale on Tuesday, but a number of shocking allegations reportedly contained in its pages have come to light after copies were leaked to the press.
The Sun, which got its hands on a copy after the book accidentally went on sale in Spain five days early, says it details the Duke’s first encounter with Camilla, now Queen Consort.
Harry was just 12 years old when his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, died in a car crash in 1997.
His father Charles, now King, married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005, following years of romance that included an affair while Charles was still married to Diana.
According to The Sun, Harry reveals in his memoir that he and his older brother William met with Camilla, who they knew as their father’s “other woman”, before she became a member of the family.
Recounting the first time they met, Harry reportedly recalls telling himself: “This is nothing. Close your eyes and you won’t even feel it.”
He allegedly goes on to say Camilla appeared “bored” when she met him, viewing the enounter as a “pure formality”, though they did briefly chat about horses.
Speaking of his father’s desire for Camilla, Harry writes, according to the Sun, that he and Prince William “could recognise the absent glances, the empty sighs, the frustration always visible on his face”.
While fearing Camilla could become his “wicked stepmother”, Harry reportedly adds that he and William were prepared to forgive her if it is what their father wanted.
But Harry also writes that he and his brother “begged” Charles not to marry her after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, the Sun reports.
He reportedly adds that his father did not respond.
Images published on Thursday of a copy of Spare appear to show Harry dedicated the memoir to his mother, as well as to his children and wife, Meghan.
A number of extraordinary claims reportedly made in Spare have come to light.
According to Page Six, the Duke of Sussex claims at one point in the book that 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 he alleges in Spare that it was Will and Kate who said he should go dressed as a Nazi, when he was choosing between that and dressing as a pilot.
He reportedly goes on to say they “howled with laughter” at the sight of him wearing it.
In another segment, the Duke reportedly claims he was physically attacked and knocked to the floor by his brother Prince William during a row over his marriage to Meghan.
According to the Guardian, which has seen a copy of the book, the altercation culminated with William grabbing Harry by the collar and throwing him to the floor, shattering a dog bowl with his back.
