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William and Harry 'almost came to blows' over a future King's 'thing'

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Prince William and Harry are on
Prince William and Harry are on 'different paths' (Image: Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Prince William and Harry once seemed incredibly close, with fractures in their relationship only coming to light in recent years. But it seems that their ongoing feud has made them more distant than ever.

In his bombshell book Spare, Harry lifted the lid on the ongoing rivalry that dominated much of their shared youth.

One major source of contention was Africa - a continent that has long held special meaning to the brothers, for different reasons.

According to Harry, by the end of 2015 he felt as though he was moving in the right direction. Along with psychedelics, work was a remedy that "proved most effective" in combating his mental health issues. With that in mind, he decided to "sign up" to the fight against the climate crisis.

But a problem apparently arose in the shape of his older brother. Africa was "his thing", William allegedly told Harry. "And he had the right to say this, or felt he did, because he was the Heir. It was ever in his power to veto my thing, and he had every intention of exercising, even flexing, that veto power."

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Harry further claimed that he and William had serious rows about the issue and "almost came to blows" over it in front of their childhood friends. "It was all so obvious," he wrote. "He cared less about finding his purpose or passion than about winning his lifelong competition with me."

It's by no means the only instance of rivalry between the brothers. Elsewhere in the book, Harry claimed that William was set apart, even as a child. He writes of how Balmoral had 50 bedrooms, one of which had been divided for him and "Willy", with adults referring to it as the nursery.

"Willy had the larger half, with a double bed, a good-sized basin, a cupboard with mirrored doors, a beautiful window looking down on the courtyard, the fountain, the bronze statue of a roe deer buck," he recalls. "My half of the room was far smaller, less luxurious. I never asked why. I didn't care. But I also didn't need to ask. Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare."

Relations between William and Harry appear to be at an all-time low, with the pair now essentially estranged.

Royal expert Jennie Bond told the Sun: "It was Harry who said in an interview that he would always love his brother even though they were on different paths, but there has been no similar declaration from William.

"I think he is still deeply hurt by Harry and Meghan's attacks, particularly on Catherine. That is a no go area as far as William is concerned and he is understandably very protective of his wife, who was once regarded by Harry as 'the sister he never had'.

Rosaleen Fenton

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