Prince Harry may be preparing for a new chapter in Britain, but one of the biggest obstacles to any wider royal reconciliation remains painfully close to home. The Duke's relationship with Prince William, 44, has spectacularly deteriorated since Harry and Meghan Markle, 45, stepped back as working royals in 2020 - with the brothers now a world away from the double act once regularly pictured laughing together at royal engagements.
And Harry, 41, has hardly kept their disagreements behind Palace doors. Through Netflix, his bombshell memoir Spare and a succession of television interviews, the Duke has made a string of extraordinary allegations involving the Prince of Wales - from screaming matches and Palace briefings to an alleged physical confrontation.
Prince William has never publicly provided a detailed response to his brother's version of events, while Kensington Palace largely declined to engage with individual allegations surrounding Spare. Now, with Harry setting his sights back on Britain, here are eight of the most explosive claims he has made about the brother who will one day be King.
Physical attack and 'arch-nemesis' claims
Perhaps the most sensational allegation of all emerged in Spare, when Harry claimed a 2019 argument at Nottingham Cottage over Meghan turned physical. The Duke alleged William described his wife as "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" before the confrontation escalated. According to Harry, his brother grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace and knocked him onto a dog bowl, leaving him with visible scrapes and bruising. The allegation dramatically escalated the public perception of their feud from an increasingly bitter war of words to the Duke's claim of physical violence between the King's two sons.
The breakdown was laid bare again during Prince Harry's publicity blitz for Spare in January 2023. During his interview with Good Morning America, Michael Strahan questioned Harry about referring to his brother in the memoir as both his "beloved brother" and his "arch-nemesis". Harry pointed to the "competition" between the pair and suggested the heir-and-spare dynamic had inevitably shaped their relationship. It was an extraordinary description of a brother with whom Harry had once shared some of the most important moments of his life, and was often snapped laughing and joking with on royal engagements.
Screaming matches and Palace briefings
One of the most dramatic accounts of Megxit came in the Sussexes' December 2022 Netflix documentary. Recalling the Sandringham summit in January 2020, where the Royal Family attempted to thrash out Harry and Meghan's future, the Duke claimed: "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me" - painting the future King in an aggressive light. He also alleged his father said things that were "simply not true" while the late Queen quietly took everything in. The account painted one of the monarchy's most consequential crisis meetings as an intensely heated family showdown.
Harry's attack did not stop with his brother - he also took aim at the institution surrounding him. In Harry & Meghan, the Duke claimed: "They were happy to lie to protect my brother," before alleging officials were "never willing to tell the truth to protect us". It was among his most damaging allegations against the royal machine, suggesting the future King's position afforded him institutional protection that the Prince believed he and his wife were denied.
Briefing culture and unauthorised statements
Prince Harry also alleged that the brothers had once made a pact never to allow their respective offices to turn against one another through the press. In the Netflix documentary, he claimed that agreement ultimately collapsed, alleging Prince William's side became involved in the very briefing culture they had promised to avoid. Harry described the wider relationship between royal households and sections of the media as a "dirty game", alleging stories could be leaked or planted as competing Palace operations fought for favourable coverage.
Another explosive allegation concerned a joint statement issued in January 2020 denying a newspaper report that Prince William's "bullying attitude" had contributed to the Sussexes' decision to step back. Prince Harry claimed in the Netflix series that he had not authorised the statement despite his name appearing on it. "I couldn't believe it," he said, alleging nobody had asked his permission. He went on and used the incident to argue that the institution could spring into action to defend William while, in his view, failing to offer his wife the same protection.
Nazi costume scandal and aftermath
Nearly two decades after Harry caused outrage by wearing a Nazi uniform to a fancy-dress party, Spare brought both Prince William and Princess Catherine directly into the controversy. Harry claimed he had asked the couple whether he should wear a pilot costume or the Nazi uniform and alleged they advised him to choose the latter. According to Harry, Prince William and his wife then "howled" with laughter when they saw him wearing it. The revelation reopened one of the darkest controversies of Harry's youth while shifting part of the focus onto his elder brother and sister-in-law.
Prince Harry added another dramatic detail to his account of the Nottingham Cottage confrontation during his January 2023 ITV interview with Tom Bradby. The Duke claimed he saw a "red mist" in his brother and alleged William wanted Harry to retaliate after the supposed physical confrontation. Harry maintained that he refused to fight back. The allegation further cemented the picture presented throughout Spare of a brotherly relationship that had deteriorated far beyond the relatively ordinary sibling rivalry once presented to the public.
