A royal expert has disclosed another aspect of royal life that Prince Harry “obviously hated” while growing up alongside his older brother, Prince William, in a revealing new documentary.
On Saturday night (July 25), Channel 5 commemorated Prince William and Kate Middleton’s son, Prince George, turning 13, with an hour-long program exploring the upbringing of a future King.
The broadcast offered audiences a glimpse into royal household dynamics and how the Wales family is raising the next generation of royals differently from how Harry and William were brought up in the 1980s. This comes after a royal expert tells Prince Harry to ‘stop grumbling’ as he ‘thrives on drama’.
Midway through the program, a royal expert highlighted a significant issue that created tension between the siblings long before their well-documented rift. Richard Kay, Editor-at-large, Daily Mail, explained to audiences: “The heir and the spare thing is a little bit cruel.”
“Yes, Charlotte and Louis are spares as it were, like Harry. He obviously resents the heir and the spare thing, but Diana definitely tried to protect him from that.” He continued by recounting a difficult experience for the father-of-two during his youth in the royal family, reports the Express.
Prince Harry and Prince William have been estranged for years (Image: Getty)
He disclosed, “I remember how Diana, for example, complained to the Queen Mother when Queen Elizabeth would always put Prince William next to her because he was the important one. She had to go to her and say. ‘Grandmama, please can you show the same to Harry?’I suspect it was rather difficult for someone like the Queen Mother to change her ways.”
This follows Princess Charlotte’s birth, which made history for the British monarchy in the wake of the Succession to the Crown Act in 2013. The landmark reform ensures the Princess retains her place in the line of succession by abolishing male-preference rules.
Under the new legislation, birth order determines succession, meaning a younger brother can no longer bypass an older sister – unlike the situation faced by her aunt, Princess Anne. The issue clearly left a lasting impression on Prince Harry, who titled his 2023 memoir Spare, a book packed with explosive claims and allegations directed at the Royal Family, most notably Prince William, King Charles, and Queen Camilla.
Richard Kay, Editor-at-large at the Daily Mail spoke about the brothers’ dynamic (Image: Channel 5)
Earlier this year, it emerged that the father-of-two reportedly earned a staggering £22 million from the book’s release, just days after Catherine’s 41st birthday. Spare quickly became the fastest-selling non-fiction book in UK history following its publication by Penguin Random House.
The Daily Mail previously reported that Harry was believed to have secured a £16 million advance as part of a £32 million four-book deal struck in June 2021.
Acclaimed bestselling author Richard Osman – known for hit crime novels including The Thursday Murder Club – drew on his own industry expertise to offer his estimate of Harry’s total earnings from the deal.
Speaking on his podcast The Rest Is Entertainment, Osman remarked, “The book that Harry wrote, it’s impossible to overestimate how much money that has made. I mean, it’s been one of the most successful books. The fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time. I’ve done some back-of-the-envelope calculations because I like to.
“I know what you get paid per book. Got a $20million advance. The thing with an advance is, you get paid in advance, $20million in that case, you do not make a penny until your publisher makes back their $20million.
And once they’ve made back their $20million, and there’s all sorts of sliding scales about how that works, what they get, what you get, once you’ve made the $20million, then you get your royalties.”
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