Prince Harry says in his new book that he wondered whether Camilla Parker Bowles would one day become his “wicked stepmother,” and alleges that she fed stories about him to the press.
He also says that she appeared “bored” the first time she met him, and that he believed she did not consider him important because of his position as the second son.
The details are contained in reports by British tabloid The Sun and the Daily Mail, both apparently based on a Spanish translation of the book, Spare, which appears to have gone on sale early by mistake.
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It is not supposed to be available until Tuesday next week.
In its report, The Sun says that Harry and William told Charles they would welcome Camilla into the family but “begged” him not to marry her. He married Camilla in 2005.
Harry said he questioned whether Camilla would end up as his “wicked stepmother” but said he and his brother, whom he calls Willy throughout and who calls him Harold, were willing to accept her if it made their father happy.
Britain’s Daily Mail obtained the Spanish-language version of the book like The Sun. It was reportedly openly on sale in the country, making a mockery of publisher Penguin Random House’s huge security operation to protect the tome.
The Mail added that Charles tried to “win over the kids” but says that when Harry met Camilla for the first time, he told himself that it was like having an “injection,” writing: “Close your eyes and you won’t even feel it.”
He writes, the Mail says: “I remember wondering... if she would be cruel to me; if she would be like all the evil stepmothers in the stories.”
He adds: “Willy had been suspicious of the Other Woman for a long time, which confused and tormented him; when those suspicions were confirmed, he felt agonizing remorse for not having done or said anything before.”
Mail Online reveals that the book opens with an account of a secret graveyard meeting between Harry, William, and Charles after Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021, with Harry having requested a “secret meeting with my older brother and my father.”
Harry says the meeting took place close to the graves of King Edward VIII, who abdicated for Wallis Simpson.
Harry allegedly writes: “I looked at Willy, really looked at him, perhaps for the first time since we were little, taking in every detail: his familiar scowl, which had always been the norm in his dealings with me.”
Harry writes: “My dear brother, my archenemy, how did we come to this? I felt overwhelming tiredness. I wanted to go home.”
Harry writes that he said of Frogmore Cottage: “Willy, this was supposed to be our house. We were going to spend the rest of our lives here.”
William allegedly replied: “You left, Harold.”
Harry says he replied: “Yeah, and you know why.”
His brother replied: “Honestly no. Harold... not really.”
Harry said Charles “was looking at me with an expression that said, ‘Me neither.’”
In another excerpt reported by the Guardian, Harry claimed that William threw him to the floor, breaking a dog bowl, during a fight in which William called Harry’s wife Meghan Markle “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”
Harry also makes an attempt to blame Prince William and Kate Middleton for his decision to wear a Nazi uniform to a January 2005 costume party in an extract leaked to Page Six.
Harry writes that he was trying to choose between a pilot uniform or a Nazi uniform and called his brother for advice.
“I phoned Willy and Kate, asked what they thought. Nazi uniform, they said.”
Harry adds that he later tried the outfit on in front of them: “They both howled. Worse than Willy’s leotard outfit! Way more ridiculous! Which, again, was the point.”
Page Six quotes “a senior publishing source” who has read the book as saying: “It’s strange as you would think that Harry would take ownership of this and just move on and not drag his brother into it, but he makes it clear that he feels strongly about William’s role in the scandal.”
