Prince Harry’s Feud With Prince William Reportedly Started Long Before Meghan Markle

Robert Lacey, author of Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, believes the fracture in their relationship goes back to 2002. Harry reportedly realized that his “spare” moniker also meant that he would take the lion’s share of the public blame when they both misbehaved. William was reportedly partying as hard as Harry was, but it was his younger brother who started to take the heat for his immature ways after being caught experimenting with cannabis. “It made Harry feel alienated,” Lacey told the Daily Mail. “Friends recall ‘no speaks’ and quite a serious rift between the brothers at the time – as there had been after the ‘Drugs Shame’ of 2002 when Harry had first started to realize the price of playing the functional scapegoat

William and Harry enjoyed “wild antics” at the Rattlebone pub when they were younger, but when their shenanigans were reported to the press, Harry took the blame. However, “the real Rattlebone ring leader had been William,” according to Lacey. Royal expert Katie Nicholl also echoed Lacey’s assessment, noting, “For the first time their relationship really suffered, and they barely spoke… Harry resented the fact that William got away so lightly.”

With William the heir to the throne, it was up to Harry to shoulder the burden of being the one left behind — and the Royal Rota crafted this narrative for him. “It was the function of the elder brother to be perfect whether he truly was or was not and it was the function of the younger one to make the rest of us laugh or complain or feel disapproving – and at all events to make us feel thoroughly superior to the poor clueless kid,” Lacey added. “This was the role that all of us shaped for Prince Harry over the years.”

That’s why Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare, makes so much sense in hindsight. His exit from the royal family to the U.S. helped him leave his old image behind as he planted roots and started a new chapter in California. Meghan was just the easy (and unfair) target in the feud. It’s why Prince Harry’s words in his book seem so haunting now: “The Heir and the Spare—there was no judgment about it, but also no ambiguity. I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy. I was summoned to provide backup, distraction, diversion, and, if necessary, a spare part.”