Kate Middleton 'refused' to read Harry's book despite it causing 'so much pain'

20 January 2024 , 10:16

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Kate 'refused' to read Harry's memoir (Image: Getty Images)

Since its publication in January 2023, Prince Harry's memoir Spare has topped many bestseller lists, but Kate and William were definitely not amongst those who bought a copy, a royal author has claimed.

However, that doesn't mean that the royal couple have no idea what claims Harry's book contained because they kept abreast of the headlines that were generated by the memoir, and their staff also looped them in on what aspects of the memoir they really needed to be aware of. The same went for Harry and Meghan's six-part Netflix documentary, which was released in 2022, with both Kate and William deciding not to tune in.

The claims were made in Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story - a new book by royal author Robert Hardman, which also alleged that the late Queen Elizabeth was "angry" that the Sussexes named their daughter after her childhood nickname: Lilibet.

Hardman wrote that despite the calls from the press and public for the Waleses to respond to the claims made in Harry's memoir, William's "staff remain adamant that he and the Princess refused to open a book which has caused so much pain."

He quotes a source as saying: "Neither of them read it," and noting that William "is a grown-up 40-year-old with the BBC app on his phone so he knows what it says. But he has people like me to tell him what else he needs to know. We gave him the key points."

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The author also wrote that both William and Kate had felt similarly about the Sussexes' Netflix series, which had been released a few months before Harry's memoir, and that they felt it was better not to comment on the allegations made against them and their staff in the series.

"It had been the same with the Netflix series, too. While much of the commentariat urged Prince William to respond to some of the more incendiary Sussex charges, whether on screen or in Harry's book, he decided to remain silent.

"Looking back, one of Prince William's team reflects: 'My boss would say: 'Whatever the rights and wrongs, I hope that people feel I behaved properly in keeping my counsel.'"

One of the allegations Harry made against his brother included that he was physically attacked by William in 2019, during a confrontation at his Kensington Palace apartment.

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Emma Mackenzie