It's no secret that there's a rift between Prince Harry and some of his family members. The Duke of Sussex has made claims about how he and his wife Meghan Markle have been treated by his fellow royals in interviews and in his memoir, Spare. Since the couple announced they were stepping down as senior members of the British royal family in January 2020, Harry's visits to the U.K. have been brief and often without much contact with his father, King Charles III, and brother, Prince William—at least as far as the public knows. Now, a new book claims the relationship between the brothers is broken and beyond repair. In an interview with People, Omid Scobie, the author of Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival (out Nov. 28), shared some insight into how that relationship deteriorated and made a shocking claim that William is actively and secretly attempting to sabotage Harry through the British media.
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"I saw Harry’s release of Spare as his last attempt at telling his family how he’s felt for years," Scobie told the magazine. "Because clearly there’s never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings." However, the author says that "absolutely nothing has changed" between William and Harry in the time since, further claiming that they feel indifferent towards each other now.
Spare tells Harry's life story, but it has a particular focus on the role the British press plays in the monarchy. He writes that some members of the royal family work with the press to share stories, including negative ones about other members, if it's to their advantage.
As reported by the New York Post, while promoting the book, Harry said on The Late Show that he believed the family was active in trying to undermine the release of Spare. There are also often dueling announcements from Harry and Markle and William and Kate Middleton. The Daily Beast notes that it often appears that the two couples attempt to draw attention away from each other's ventures by releasing news at the same time.
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Scobie goes a step further by claiming that William is actively attempting to sabotage Harry in the press by quietly cooperating with the British media as he prioritizes the monarchy over his personal relationship with his brother.
"I was talking to a source quite early on in the process [of writing Endgame], and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view," the author told People. “These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown." People reports that Kensington Palace did not comment on the claims that William has tried to undermine his brother.
Scobie also commented on whether sacrificing personal relationships will be worth it if the monarchy is strengthened and survives. "These are probably sad realizations that will be had far too late in the journey. In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the crown," the royal expert said. "His freedom to exert his own thinking outside of the confines of the institution has made him the enemy." For William and Harry, Scobie said, "There is no going back."
The author spoke to several sources about the brothers' relationship for Endgame, which is excerpted by People. The book includes the claim that William finds Harry "oh so California" and believes he has been "brainwashed" by an "army of therapists." A source close to William said, "There’s a huge amount of anger there. He feels betrayed and sad about the situation. But he also doesn’t agree with the things his brother feels he has done. He feels he has lost Harry and doesn’t want to know this version of him." Another source said that Harry is now "a man who has stepped outside of the institution and sees things in a different light. They will never see eye to eye at this point. They’re on completely opposite sides ... that won’t change."
A source also claimed that Harry has "accepted that things are unlikely to change, particularly with his brother—who refuses to even properly talk with him." The prince is said to have told a friend, "I’m ready to move on past it. Whether we get an apology or accountability, who knows? Who really cares at this point?"
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