Prince Harry reportedly claims he was physically attacked by his brother William during a row over his marriage to Meghan Markle.
The Guardian has obtained a copy of Spare – the Duke of Sussex’s highly anticipated book – days before it was due to hit the shelves.
In a leaked extract, it is alleged that the Prince of Wales grabbed his brother and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor.
Harry goes on to claim that William had called the American actress “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
“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,” Harry reportedly wrote in the book.
“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the excerpt continued.
The incident allegedly took place at Nottingham Cottage back in 2019 when Harry was living there and started when William arrived and complained about Meghan.
Sky News has approached Buckingham Palace for a comment.
Harry writes that his brother was not being rational and they both started shouting at each other, exchanging insults, before William claimed he was trying to help.
“Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call this? Helping me?,” Harry said, according to The Guardian’s copy.
His comment supposedly angered William, and the alleged altercation took place after he offered him a glass of water.
Harry added that William urged him to hit back, before leaving and then returning “looking regretful and apologised”.
When he left again, Harry said he “turned and called back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this”.
He goes on to explain that he didn’t immediately tell his wife, but did tell her of the incident after she noticed “scrapes and bruises” on his back.
However, he claimed to have told his therapist first.
The book, which is entitled after the phrase ‘heir and a spare’, also delves into Harry’s childhood, his school, his career as a royal and the relationship he shares with his parents and brother.
He recounts memories of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997, and for the Queen, who died last year.
Spare, which is due to be released on 10 January, comes after the prince’s recent Netflix documentary into his life with Meghan and their decision to leave the royal family.
In the series, it was revealed Meghan suffered a miscarriage, which Harry said was caused by the stress put on her as a result of their lawsuit against the Daily Mail’s parent company, and had suicidal thoughts.
