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Harry

Express Published Aug 20, 2026 Reviewed Aug 21, 2026 ✓ Reviewed by citations.press editors
Harry
Harry and Meghan are reportedly planning to return to the UK by the end of August.
Harry's 2023 memoir Spare contains 416 pages.
416 pages · Spare Harry, author
Chelsy Davy and Prince Harry's on-off romance lasted from 2004 to 2011.
Harry and his brother William had a violent confrontation at Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace in 2019.
2019 · Harry and William confrontation Harry, author
Harry wore a Nazi uniform costume to a fancy dress party in 2005, with approval from William and Catherine.
2005 · Nazi uniform costume Harry, author
Princess Diana had a five-year affair with James Hewitt.
5 years · Princess Diana affair
Harry and Meghan quit the royal family six years ago.
6 years · Harry and Meghan quitting

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made the bombshell decision to relocate back to the UK — six years after they quit the royal family and departed for America.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are reportedly planning to return by the end of August, with their two children, Archie and Lilibet, set to begin school in Britain within just a matter of weeks.

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Having stepped down from his role as a senior working royal in 2020, Harry has claimed he was too apprehensive to bring his family back to the UK, fearing he could be the target of a terror plot.

The couple are understood to have secured a private, non-royal residence in the UK, though details regarding their precise location or their children's chosen school have been withheld for security and privacy reasons.

King Charles is said to be fully aware of the pair's intentions following an emotional reunion with his youngest son last month — a development that will also afford the King greater opportunity to spend time with his two grandchildren, reports the Daily Star.

Since stepping away from royal duties, Harry has made a series of revelations about the royals and his strained relationships with them during various television interviews. However, his most explosive disclosures came in his 2023 memoir, Spare.

The royal pulled no punches in Spare, unleashing a torrent of criticism aimed at almost every member of the royal family.

His brother, Prince William, and stepmother Queen Camilla bore the brunt of the allegations throughout the book's 416 pages — though King Charles and Princess Kate did not escape unscathed either. He also implied that the Queen's disapproval of his first love and long-term ex Chelsy Davy played a role in the breakdown of their romance.

Nevertheless, Harry also uses the book to convey his fondness for his family, particularly his father and brother, stating he believes "100%" that reconciliation is possible — but only if they can "take accountability". During his interview with ITV's Tom Bradby to promote the book, he declares he "wants his father and brother back."

Here, we explore some of Harry's most cutting remarks about his family.

Regarding his stepmother Camilla, Harry alleges that she fed stories to the press about William.

He recounts how both he and William implored their father King Charles not to wed the now Queen Consort, and how she provided "pinpoint accurate details" about her initial encounter with Harry's brother.

Insinuating that Camilla was the source of the leak to journalists, Harry writes: "None [of the details] had come from Willy, of course. They could only have been leaked by the one other person present."

While many royal fans were convinced Harry would ultimately settle down with Chelsy Davy, the book reveals his late grandmother played a part in their separation, leaving him utterly devastated.

Chelsy was Prince Harry's first serious girlfriend, having met while both were pupils at Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. The pair enjoyed an on-off romance between 2004 and 2011, during which Chelsy was introduced to the Queen and attended William and Kate's wedding as Harry's guest.

Nevertheless, it seems the late Monarch disapproved of Chelsy's carefree approach to life, and this ultimately contributed to their break up.

Harry's memoir Spare reveals that Chelsy made him "really happy" but this proved insufficient for the relationship to last.

"I couldn't help what my grandmother thought about it. Or the people. And the last thing I wanted was for Chels to change to please them," he wrote.

Chelsy has also discussed the enormous strain of living under public examination.

"It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable," she told the Times. "I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible."

Harry claimed his brother had been drinking rum the evening before his wedding to Catherine, suggesting he was "tipsy" when he conducted an impromptu walkabout in London.

Royal fans camped overnight on The Mall to guarantee prime viewing positions for the royal wedding procession, and William was determined to meet them - despite objections from their security personnel. Harry writes: "Willy, already tipsy from the rum, shouted: 'Let's go down and see them!'."

Yet, Harry writes it was "impossible not to hear the echo" of the events that followed Diana's death in August 1997. Harry described how the pair were "physically and emotionally exhausted", and it appeared his brother had barely rested before collecting him the following morning.

"I was stunned when I went to pick him up in the morning and saw his haggard face and red eyes; It seemed that he had not slept at all," Harry wrote.

When Harry asked whether he was alright he said yes, but the Duke of Sussex claims he sensed otherwise.

Harry alleges that once the vehicle began moving he told his brother he "smelled like alcohol", noting it was likely the "aftermath of the rum from the night before".

He recounted how he opened the window slightly, shielded his nose and presented William with mints "by way of mockery".

In the memoir, Harry claims his father frequently delivered a succession of cutting jokes at his expense. He suggests his dad relishes storytelling, and one of his anecdotes concerned a trip to a psychiatric facility where he met a patient insisting he was the Prince of Wales - a title the King possessed at the time of the encounter.

According to Prince Harry's book, Charles gestured towards the patient and proclaimed he was the only Prince of Wales.

Harry additionally notes his dad possessed a talent for concluding his tales with a "philosophical flash" and on this occasion Charles questioned whether anyone could truly be confident they were not the mentally unwell individual themselves, "living in a fantasy". Harry then alleges that Charles quipped: "Who knows if I'm even your real father? Perhaps your father really is in Broadmoor, my dear son!".

The Prince also wrote in the memoir that the joke was "in poor taste" given the rumour circulating at the time that his biological father was James Hewitt, as reported by the Daily Mail.

Princess Diana embarked on a five-year affair with Mr Hewitt while he was serving as a Household Cavalry officer. This took place after Harry's birth.

Elsewhere in the book, he claims Charles joked about him being the "spare" just moments after his birth.

He recounted 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."

Harry refers to Camilla as the Other Woman throughout sections of the book, admitting he dreaded her becoming a "wicked stepmother', reports the Independent.. He compares meeting their first meeting to getting an injection, writing ", reports the Independent. He likens their first encounter to receiving an injection, writing "Close your eyes and you won't even feel it."

Harry further accuses Camilla of "campaigning" for the Crown once their relationship became public knowledge.

Yet during Harry's interview with ITV's Tom Bradby, he insists he does not say anything "scathing" about Camilla. He said: "There's no part of any of the things that I've said [in the book] that are scathing towards any member of my family, especially not my stepmother."

Some of the most gut-wrenching passages in the book emerge when Harry recounts the moment he discovered his mother Princess Diana had passed away.

He describes being roused by his father Charles while at Balmoral, who broke the shattering news that Diana had perished in a car crash in Paris.

Harry explains on how he failed to shed a single tear, revealing "Pa didn't hug me".

He explains that his father struggled to express his emotions - yet adds that he rested a hand on his knee and reassured him "It's going to be OK".

In the opening pages of the book, Harry discloses conversations he had with William and Charles when he travelled to the UK for Prince Philip's funeral. He describes taking in the sight of his brother as they prepared to speak, noting his "advancing baldness, more advance than my own".

Harry also takes a swipe at how his brother had aged - bearing increasingly little resemblance to their mother Diana.

He adds: "His famous resemblance to Mummy, which was fading with time."

Among the most startling revelations in Harry's Spare is that a violent confrontation took place between him and his elder brother William at Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace in 2019.

The book alleges that William had labelled Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" – comments which the younger brother claimed mirrored "the press narrative" surrounding his wife. Harry claims insults were exchanged before he told William his assertions that he was trying to help were laughable.

The Duke of Sussex then alleges: "(William) called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.

"I landed on the dog's bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out."

Harry writes that William urged him to hit back but he refused. Shortly afterwards though, the elder brother apologised.

Reflecting on his early twenties, Harry recounts the notorious Nazi uniform costume he wore to a fancy dress party in 2005. Pictures of Harry sporting the outfit became public – sparking widespread condemnation, but in his memoir, he maintains that William and Catherine gave their approval for him to wear it.

He reveals that he rang them to seek their opinion on whether he should wear it, adding that they both "howled" when he told them about it.

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