In his explosive 2023 memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex revisited the emotional toll of growing up as the “other” brother, knowing Prince William was destined for the throne while he never would be. But it was Harry’s decision to drag William’s children into that narrative that reportedly crossed a line.
The 41-year-old went further in a later interview, openly suggesting that Prince William’s two youngest children—Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis—could one day suffer the same fate he did, labelling them, in effect, as future “spares” to their elder brother, Prince George.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Harry admitted:
“Though William and I have talked about it once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility, I still feel a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare—and that hurts, that worries me.”
According to royal commentators, that statement alone would have been enough to horrify Prince William.