William lunged at brother after Philip’s funeral and used secret code phrase about Diana, claims Harry
PRINCE William twice lunged at brother Harry in a physical bust-up in front of dad Charles just after Prince Philip’s funeral.
Harry says in his new book Spare that a “steaming” and “shouting” William “grabbed my shirt” as the three of them held peace talks in the gardens of Frogmore Cottage in April 2021.
The latest sensational extracts from the book emerged last night.
In the book, Harry, 38, says he mentioned the Megxit agreement and his view it had been “violated” when William raged at him.
He said his father just “stopped” but does not reveal if he said anything.
Harry has already alleged William knocked him to the ground in an earlier clash.
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William, 40, is said to be “burning” at the claims made by his brother.
A friend of both princes said: “William is a sitting duck because Harry knows he isn’t going to retaliate.
"How many shots can you take at a sitting duck? It’s cruel, cowardly and so sad for William to keep taking the punches. He’s keeping quiet for the good of his family and the country.”
Another said: “I don’t know how you can do that to your brother, even if you don’t like or get on with him any more.
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“William was always there to pick up the pieces for Harry, he was his mum [after Diana].”
'I swear on Mummy’s life'
William told Harry: “I just want you to be happy” when they clashed at attempted peace talks.
But Harry, writing in new book Spare, claims: “My voice broke as I told him softly, ‘I really don’t think you do’.”
The younger prince also claims William invoked their rarely-used secret code, “I swear on Mummy’s life” — as tempers flared after Philip’s funeral last April 17.
Harry claims the pair and their dad Charles went on a half-hour stroll, arriving at a gothic ruin near Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
They discussed his Oprah Winfrey interview from weeks earlier.
Harry claims he tried to reason with his brother and father, and wanted to discuss bullying allegations against wife Meghan.
But they weren’t listening, he said, and he was turning away to say goodbye.
He says William, who was “really steaming", shouted at him: “You never came to us. You never came to me.”
Harry expressed his feelings over their Megxit agreement being “violated” when William shouted he should “take it up with Granny”.
Harry wrote: "I waved a hand, disgusted, but he lunged, grabbed my shirt. ‘Listen to me, Harold’.
“I pulled away, refused to meet his gaze. He forced me to look into his eyes. Listen to me, Harold, listen! I love you, Harold! I want you to be happy."
Harry claims he fired back with "I love you too…but your stubbornness is extraordinary!"
He pulled out of William’s grasp but claims his brother grabbed him again and twisted him to maintain eye contact.
He says in the book: “Harold, you must listen to me! I just want you to be happy, Harold. I swear I swear on Mummy’s life.
“He stopped. I stopped. Pa stopped. He’d gone there.
“He’d used the secret code, the universal password. Ever since we were boys those three words were to be used only in times of extreme crisis.”
Harry, who while describing this encounter called Wills his “arch-nemesis” and pointed out his “alarming baldness”, said he was ready at that point to fly back to the US to be with Meghan.
He wrote: “Willy wasn’t quite ready to accept defeat.. ‘I’ve felt properly sick and ill after everything that’s happened and, and I swear to you now on Mummy’s life that I just want you to be happy’.
Harry added: “My voice broke as I told him softly: I really don’t think you do.”
The Sun on Sunday understands that William did hug his brother and told him “I love you”.
But neither William nor Charles have spoken about rows or behind the scenes at Philip’s funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Harry also claims he’s always felt he had to go on bended knee to William when asking for his help.
But he does recall happy memories of growing up with William and them blasting partridges on a shoot in Spain.
Harry added: “But now I saw that even our finest moments, and my best memories, somehow involved death.
“Our lives were built on death, our brightest days shadowed by it. Looking back, I didn't see spots of time, but dances with death.”
He described Windsor Castle as a “tomb, the walls filled with ancestors” and Tower of London “held together with the blood of animals” adding, “maybe we were a death cult”.
Harry claims his father and brother were “delusional” over claims Meghan bullied staff and accused them of failing to help him during Megxit talks at Sandringham.
Harry revealed that he had filed a response to claims Meg bullied two staff out of a job and humiliated a third.
Buckingham Palace buried an investigation into the bullying allegations.
But Harry claims in this extract: “Meg was apparently a bully, that was the latest vicious campaign they’d helped orchestrate.
“It was so shocking, so egregious, that even after Meg and I demolished their lie with a 25-page, evidence-filled report to human resources, I was going to have trouble simply shrugging that one off.”
Harry blamed Charles and Wills for dealing with the media and wrote: “They began talking over each other. We’ve been down this road a hundred times, they said. You’re delusional, Harry. But they were the delusional ones.”
Harry reveals several friends including ex-nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke “chastised” him for the Oprah interview which took place while ailing Philip was in hospital.
In the chat, Harry and Meghan accused the royals of making racist remarks about son Archie.
These claims are not mentioned or expanded on in the book.
The Sun exclusively revealed in April 2021 that Harry had peace talks with his father and brother at Frogmore Cottage after the funeral but our story was denied by senior Palace sources the time.
Photos show Charles left in his Tesla shortly before 6pm despite Palace insistence family members had left straight after the funeral.
William left in a Range Rover via a different exit from Windsor Castle estate several minutes later.
Harry and Meg have renewed their lease on the cottage which is close to Kate and William’s new home at Adelaide Cottage.
The brothers have barely spoken since the Frogmore Cottage showdown but share the occasional text, it is understood.
It is the second physical altercation described in Harry’s book.
He also claims Wills arrived at Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace in December 2019 “piping hot” to discuss “the whole rolling catastrophe” of their relationship.
The Sun understands Wills visited his brother in good faith to confront bullying allegations.
Harry wrote his sibling called Meg “rude” and “abrasive” then ripped his necklace.
The Sun revealed yesterday that William is “calm but relieved” the book is finally out after 18 months of rumours.
Kate turns 41 tomorrow and is expected to spend her birthday with their children George, 9, Charlotte, 7, and four-year-old Louis.
A photo of Kate is expected to be released to mark the day.
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It is believed the Prince and Princess of Wales, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla will take part in planned public engagements this week.
Buckingham and Kensington Palaces are not commenting on the book.
'RATING AT NEW LOWS'
PRINCE Harry’s popularity could plummet even further following revelations from his new book, analysts have warned.
The Duke of Sussex’s net approval score fell by 27 points between the Queen’s funeral in September and the release of the Prince’s incendiary Netflix documentary in early December.
The decline in the Prince’s popularity score was the sharpest of any royal family member with almost six in ten Brits (59%) taking a negative view of the Spare author.
Meghan Markle’s favourability also fell by 7% between September and December - making her the least popular royal according to the longrunning YouGov poll, with 64% of respondents saying they disliked about the American-born Duchess, 41.
YouGov researcher Beth Kühnel Mann said Harry’s autobiography Spare, set to be published on Tuesday, could tank the couple’s popularity rating to unprecedented lows.
She said: “We saw them both take a hit to their popularity in December, so when looking forward to the impact the memoir might have, we shouldn’t expect it to be positive.”
In contrast Harry’s brother Prince William is the most popular royal with a 62% net positive rating, closely followed by Princess Anne on 59% and Kate Middleton on 57%.
Another YouGov poll last week revealed 65% of Brits were “not interested” in reading the Prince’s revelation-packed book, whilst just 4% said they were eagerly anticipating its release.