Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to be moving back to the UK by the end of August, six years after they quit the royal family and moved to America. Their two children, Archie and Lilibet, are expected to start school in Britain in just a few weeks.
After quitting his role as a senior working royal in 2020, Harry has claimed he was too concerned to bring his family back to the UK as he feared he would be the target of a terror plot. It is understood the couple have found a private, non-royal home in the UK, although details about where they will be living or which school their children will be attending have not been released for security and privacy reasons.
King Charles is said to be aware of the couple's plans following an emotional reunion with his youngest son last month. It will also mean the King will be able to spend more time with his two grandchildren.
Camilla's Leaks to the Press
Since quitting his royal role, Harry has shared a number of claims about the royals and his relationship with them in TV interviews. The most explosive claims were released in his 2023 memoir, Spare. The royal didn't hold back in Spare, launching a barrage of criticisms at virtually every member of the royal family. His brother, Prince William, and stepmother Queen Camilla bore the brunt of the allegations across the book's 416 pages, but King Charles and Princess Kate weren't spared either.
When it comes to his stepmother Camilla, Harry alleges that she leaked stories to the press about William. He discusses how he and William pleaded with their father King Charles not to marry the now Queen Consort and how she also gave "pinpoint accurate details" on her first meeting with Harry's brother. Implying Camilla leaked the information to journalists, Harry writes: "None [of the details] had come from Willy, of course. They could only have been leaked by the one other person present."
Queen's Role in Split from Chelsy
Many royal fans were certain Harry would end up with Chelsy Davy, but in the book Harry discloses his late grandmother had a role in their break-up, which left him heartbroken. Chelsy was Prince Harry's first serious girlfriend, after the pair met while studying at the Stowe School in Buckinghamshire. The couple had an on-off relationship between 2004 and 2011, during which time Chelsy met the Queen and was Harry's guest at William and Kate's wedding.
It appears the late Monarch wasn't keen on Chelsy's free-spirited lifestyle, and ultimately this led to their split. It says in Harry's memoir Spare that Chelsy made him "really happy" but it wasn't enough for the relationship to endure. "I couldn't help what my grandmother thought about it. Or the people. And the last thing I wanted was for Chels to change to please them," he wrote. Chelsy has also spoken out about the immense pressure of being under public scrutiny. "It was so full-on: crazy and scary and uncomfortable," she told the Times. "I found it very difficult when it was bad. I couldn't cope. I was young, I was trying to be a normal kid and it was horrible."
'Tipsy' William 'Stank of Booze' Hours Before Marrying Kate
Harry accused his brother of hitting the rum the night before his wedding to Kate, alleging he was "tipsy" when he carried out a spontaneous walkabout in London. Royal fans camped out on The Mall to secure the best views of the royal wedding procession, and William was keen to go and greet them despite warnings from their security team. Harry writes: "Willy, already tipsy from the rum, shouted: 'Let's go down and see them!'."
Harry writes it was "impossible not to hear the echo" of the scenes that followed Diana's death in August 1997. Harry wrote about how the pair were "physically and emotionally exhausted", and it seemed that his brother had not rested before he came to pick him up the next morning. "I was stunned when I went to pick him up in the morning and saw his haggard face and red eyes; It seemed that he had not slept at all," Harry wrote. When Harry asked if he was okay he said yes, but the Duke of Sussex writes that he didn't believe that to be true. Harry alleges that when the car started moving he told his brother he "smelled like alcohol", writing it was probably the "aftermath of the rum from the night before". He described how he cracked the window a bit, covered his nose and offered William mints "by way of mockery".
Charles's Cruel Jokes
In the memoir, Harry alleges his father often made a series of harsh jokes at his expense. He suggests that his dad enjoys anecdotes, and one of his tales involved a visit to a mental institution where he encountered a man claiming to be the Prince of Wales. According to Prince Harry's book, Charles pointed his finger at the patient and declared he was the sole Prince of Wales. Harry further adds that his dad had a knack for ending his stories with a "philosophical flash" and in this case Charles pondered whether anyone could be certain they were not the mentally ill one themselves, "living in a fantasy". Harry then alleges that Charles quipped: "Who knows if I'm even your real father? Perhaps your father really is in Broadmoor, my dear son!"
The Prince also wrote in the memoir that the joke was "in poor taste" given the rumour circulating at the time that his biological father was James Hewitt, as reported by the Daily Mail. Princess Diana had a five-year affair with Mr Hewitt when he was a Household Cavalry officer, which occurred after Harry was born. Elsewhere in the book, he claims Charles joked about him being the "spare" just moments after his birth. He wrote how the now King told his mother Princess Diana on the day of his birth: "Wonderful! Now you've given me an heir and a spare. My work is done."
First Meeting with Camilla Was 'Like Injection'
Harry refers to Camilla as the Other Woman in sections of the book, and says he feared her being a "wicked stepmother", reports the Independent. He compares meeting their first meeting to getting an injection, writing "Close your eyes and you won't even feel it." Harry also accuses Camilla of "campaigning" for the Crown after their relationship was made public. However during Harry's interview with ITV's Tom Bradby, he claims he doesn't say anything "scathing" about Camilla. He said: "There's no part of any of the things that I've said [in the book] that are scathing towards any member of my family, especially not my stepmother."
Charles Didn't Hug Him After Diana's Death
Some of the most heart-wrenching pages in the book come when Harry describes the moment he learned of his mother Princess Diana's death. He recalls being woken by his father Charles while at Balmoral, who delivered the devastating news that Diana had died following a car crash in Paris. Harry goes into detail about how he didn't shed a tear and reveals "Pa didn't hug me". He explains that his dad wasn't great at showing emotions but follows up by saying he placed a hand on his knee and told him "It's going to be OK".
Bald Jibes at William
In the opening pages of the book, Harry reveals talks he held with William and Charles when he came to the UK for Prince Philip's funeral. He talks about how he took in the image of his brother as they prepared to chat and describes his "advancing baldness, more advance than my own". Harry also makes a dig at how his brother had aged and no longer resembled their mother Diana. He adds: "His famous resemblance to Mummy, which was fading with time."
William and Harry's Physical Altercation
One of the most shocking revelations in Spare by Harry is that a physical confrontation happened between him and elder brother William at Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace in 2019. The book claims William had branded Meghan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" – remarks which the younger brother said echoed "the press narrative" about his wife. Harry says insults were traded before he told William his assertions that he was trying to help were laughable. The Duke of Sussex then alleges: "(William) called me another name, then came at me. 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. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out." Harry writes that William urged him to hit back but he refused. Shortly afterwards though, the elder brother apologised.
William and Kate 'Approved' of Harry's Nazi Uniform
When discussing his early 20s, Harry recalls the infamous Nazi uniform costume he wore to a fancy dress party in 2005. Images of Harry donning the outfit surfaced in public, leading to extensive criticism, but in his memoir, he asserts that William and Kate approved of him wearing it. He states that he phoned them to seek their advice on whether he should wear it and adds they both "howled" when he informed them about it.
