He said William and he wanted to issue a statement asking jointly for the investigation to be reopened, and, even, call a press conference. “Those who decided dissuaded us,” he writes. Sex and drugs When announcing the memoir in 2021, Prince Harry said he was writing the book “not as the prince I was born but as the man I have become”. Among them are journalist Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s Finding Freedom, an unofficial biography of the couple. A follow-up by Scobie, which is as yet untitled, is due to be released next year. Prince William was the heir, “whereas I was the spare”, Harry writes, according to reports in Friday’s newspapers. It was “shorthand” used by his father, now king, his mother, his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, and “even Granny” – the late queen – the Times reports. There was “no judgment about it but also no ambiguity”. Harry was “the shadow, the support, the plan B”, and believes he was “brought into this world in case something happened”. With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” said the publisher.

Spare Us! by Bruno Vincent | Hachette UK Spare Us! by Bruno Vincent | Hachette UK

Simmering tensions between the Cambridges and the Sussexes came to a head after the Sussexes’ wedding, after Harry and Meghan popped round for tea, according to numerous reports. Previously, Kate, who had recently given birth, had reportedly being offended at Meghan describing her apparent forgetfulness as “baby brain because of her hormones”. When the subject was raised, Harry writes, Meghan apologised, saying it was how she would speak to friends. But William, according to Harry, “pointed a finger at Meghan” and thundered: “Well it’s rude, Meghan. These things are not done here,” to which Meghan is said to have replied: “If you don’t mind, keep your finger out of my face.” Of the “summary conclusion” that a drunk chauffeur “was the only cause of the accident”, he concludes: “It was simplistic and absurd.” Even if he had been drinking or drunk, “he wouldn’t have had any problem driving through such a short tunnel,” Harry writes, adding: “Unless paparazzi were following him and dazzled him.” I’ve worn many hats over the years, both literally and figuratively, and my hope is that in telling my story – the highs and lows, the mistakes, the lessons learned – I can help show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think,” he added. “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to share what I’ve learned over the course of my life so far and excited for people to read a firsthand account of my life that’s accurate and wholly truthful.” It seemed to me essential not to be afraid of that number. So my number is 25. It’s not a number that fills me with satisfaction, but nor does it embarrass me,” he wrote, according to the Times’ translation from the Spanish edition of his book. The Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan have been the subjects of a number of books written by others in recent years.

Spare will be released on 10 January in 16 languages worldwide, and an audiobook read by Prince Harry will be released on the same day.

Spare? Here’s all we know so far What’s in Prince Harry’s memoir Spare? Here’s all we know so far

He was born into an ancient powerful dynasty and, through no fault of his own, became one of the most recognisable men on the planet. Other notable asides include the fact he was circumcised as a child, according to the New York Post, and that his penis suffered frostbite on a trip to Antarctica immediately before William and Kate’s marriage. Princess of WalesThe trauma of his mother’s death is evident as Harry describes in detail its immediate impact, and his struggle since to come to terms with it. He recalls Charles breaking the news, sitting at the end of his bed at Balmoral Castle, with his hand on his son’s knee, telling him: “My dear son, mum has had a car accident.” According to the Sun, Harry claims Charles did not hug him, and that he later “felt like a politician” as he greeted members of the public after his mother’s death. Markus Dohle, global CEO of Penguin Random House, said Prince Harry “shares a remarkably moving personal journey from trauma to healing, one that speaks to the power of love and will inspire and encourage millions of people around the world”. He had first taken cocaine during a hunting weekend aged 17, smoked cannabis in the gardens of Kensington Palace and at Eton school, and took psychedelics both for “fun” and therapeutically over the years revealing they allowed him to see “the truth”, according to the Telegraph. Harry hoped for understanding from his family over his decision to leave. He writes of meeting with Charles and William at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral. But as soon as he saw William’s “familiar scowl”, he knew he was in for a “duel”. Neither his father or brother appeared to understand why he had left. Of his father, he writes, Charles told his sons: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.”