Prince Harry has gone into great detail about his relationships with his father the King and brother Prince William – but the Duke claims that he actually held back in his memoir, Spare

Prince Harry has blown the lid on life in the royal family, including his fractured relationship with Prince William and King Charles. And he also raised eyebrows when he made a surprising claim about their fall-outs.

Whether in his memoir Spare, numerous TV interviews, or the Harry and Meghan Netflix series, the Duke of Sussex seems to have taken a no-holds-barred approach to detailing private moments with his family.

But that’s not the case, according to Harry himself. Following the release of Spare in January 2023, he spoke to the Telegraph and made an unexpected claim that he had actually omitted a number of stories about his father and brother.

He said: “It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out. There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”

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While Harry has stated he left a number of stories out of the book, the content he did choose to share has driven a huge wedge between the Sussexes and the rest of the royals.

The King’s busy schedule with engagements meant that he was unavailable to see his youngest son during his visit to the UK last week. Prince William is also said to currently have no interest in meeting up with his sibling.

According to a friend of the monarch, Charles was “understandably wary” about meeting Harry because of the “publicity circus” surrounding their relationship.

The insider told The Times: “It’s all very sad. While it is true that the King is understandably wary about meeting with Harry, given the publicity circus that seems to surround all such visits, he did of course agree to see his son at the most vulnerable moment of his illness [in February], and at very short notice.

“While he was hardly going to roll out the red carpet the moment this Invictus trip was announced, with doctors advising him to focus on his treatment and recovery, the idea that he refused to find space in his diary … well, let’s say recollections may vary once again.”

Friends of the King continue to stress that, to the best of their understanding, Harry neither requested to see his father nor invited him to attend his service at St Paul’s Cathedral to celebrate the Invictus anniversary. The last time Harry saw his dad – and only time since his coronation last year – was in early February for a half-hour meeting after Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Harry’s relationship with this brother William appears to remain as fractured as ever. Royal expert Tom Quinn told The Mirror: “Harry’s visit to the UK has done nothing to repair royal relations – Harry has been very publicly snubbed by his father and brother.

“[William] says nothing. It is as if Harry no longer exists. There’s been no obvious criticism from either side, but the silence from William is deafening.”