Prince Harry’s ‘Attack’ on Kate Was ‘Lowest of the Low’ for William

Prince Harry’s inference in his Netflix show that Prince William may not have married Kate Middleton for love “astonished” the royals’ friends and was seen by his brother as the “lowest of the low,” according to a new book.

Harry told viewers of the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries in December 2022 that: “For so many people in the [royal] family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with…The difference between making decisions with your head, or your heart.”

The comment earned the prince backlash as it questioned the motivation behind the current royal marriages, the most prominent in connection with Harry’s narrative being that of his brother and sister-in-law.

Now, a new biography of King Charles III, written by author Robert Hardman in Britain, has claimed that William considered any attack on Kate by his brother to be the “lowest of the low.”

In King Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story which has been serialized in U.K. tabloid newspaper the Daily Mail, ahead of its publication on Thursday, Hardman described Harry’s docuseries as a “salvo” of “withering remarks” about the monarchy and his family.

“Among other things, Prince Harry claimed that, for male members of the family, ‘there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold—as opposed to somebody who you perhaps are destined to be with,'” he recounted.

“The clear inference that he was talking about his elder brother astonished friends of the family.”

An unnamed friend cited by Hardman said: “‘On top of all the other breaches of trust, here was Harry making a blatant attack on Catherine. For William, this was the lowest of the low.'”

As a caveat, the author added that “opinions were divided” over whether Harry was being indirectly negative about Kate and her marriage, or whether it was “a case of ‘Harry shooting his mouth off’ with yet another round of scattergun assertions and thoughtless allegations.”

Harry’s relationship with William and Kate has become one of increased public fascination since his split from the monarchy in 2020 with Meghan Markle and move to the U.S.

In another extract from his upcoming book, Hardman discussed the first joint public appearance made by the two couples in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth’s death and the unease between them.

Two days after the queen died, her two grandsons and their wives appeared outside the gates of Windsor Castle to view floral tributes and meet members of the public. The appearance marked the first time Kate and Meghan had been seen together since the latter’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in which she told the world that the new Princess of Wales had made her cry before her wedding in an argument over bridesmaids dresses.

“It was very much William’s idea. He had organized it in about two hours flat,'” Hardman cited a royal source as saying.

“He had been giving it a lot of thought and he said: ‘I know it’s awkward but isn’t it right in the context of my grandmother’s death?'”

After the 40 minute appearance, during which the couples had little interaction with one another, a source told Hardman that neither had “‘found it easy.'”

Following the queen’s death and the Netflix show, Harry’s Spare memoir was released to worldwide media attention, containing a number of never before heard revelations and providing an unprecedented glimpse behind palace walls.

One of the principle relationships explored by Harry in the book was that with his older brother. It included a number of claims, including jealousy, resentment and anger having developed between the two over the course of their lives. Perhaps the most damning of these being an account of a physical assault allegedly launched by William at his brother during an argument over Meghan’s treatment of palace staff.

William did not publicly respond to these claims. In his book, Hardman writes that neither William not Kate have read Spare but are aware of its contents.

Newsweek approached Kensington Palace and representatives of Prince Harry via email for comment.

Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story is due to be published on January 18 by Macmillan.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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