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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Kyle O'Sullivan

Prince Harry's first words to therapist after shirt was ripped in alleged William fight

The alleged violent showdown between Prince William told Prince Harry has been well-documented - but the aftermath has now been revealed.

In his new book Spare, Harry says he was knocked to the floor by his older brother during a showdown at Nottingham Cottage in 2019.

Harry alleges he was left with bruises and cuts on his back after William grabbed him by the collar, ripped his necklace and knocked him into a dog bowl.

According to Harry, the Prince of Wales then asked his brother not to tell wife Meghan Markle about the confrontation.

In a new extract, Harry explains that he wanted to keep his promise to William but desperately needed to speak to someone, so he rang his therapist.

Princes William and Harry reportedly had a dramatic showdown (Yui Muk/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

In Spare, Harry writes: "I apologized for the intrusion, told her I didn't know who else to call. I told her I'd had a fight with Willy, he'd knocked me to the floor. I looked down and told her that my shirt was ripped, my necklace was broken.

"We'd had a million physical fights in our lives, I told her. As boys we'd done nothing but fight. But this felt different.

The therapist told Harry to take deep breaths and describe the scene several times, which made it seem more like a bad dream every time.

Feeling calmer, Harry then says he told the therapist that he felt "proud of myself" because he didn't hit William back.

While Harry did stay true to his word and didn't tell Meghan, he says she discovered what happened when she saw him coming out of the shower.

Unable to lie to her, Harry explained how he got the scrapes and bruises, which left her feeling "terribly sad" rather than angry.

William and Harry with their father, King Charles (Getty Images)

Harry wrote that William arrived at Harry's Nott Cott home to talk about their relationship already "piping hot", with their pair shouting over each other in the squabble.

During the argument William is said to have called Megan "difficult", "rude" and "abrasive" – comments which the younger brother said parroted “the press narrative” about his wife.

Harry then dismissed his brother's claims he was trying to help and went to the kitchen where he told him "Willy, I can’t speak to you when you’re like this", the Guardian reported.

The Duke writes in the passage from the book: "He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me.

"It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me.

"I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out."

The Prince of Wales reportedly asked his brother not to tell Meghan about the confrontation in the aftermath, resulting in Harry saying: "You mean that you attacked me?", to which he responded: "I didn’t attack you, Harold."

There was a clash between William and Harry, according to the latter (Martin Meissner/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Elsewhere in the book, Harry reveals that a worried Prince William expressed concerns for his younger brother.

According to Harry, his older sibling told him that he believed he'd been "brainwashed" by the therapist he was seeing.

In Spare, Harry outlines the moment where he claims the Prince of Wales said he wanted to come along to one of his confidential therapy sessions.

Harry claims William wanted to come along for support because he was worried about what his younger brother was being exposed to.

The Duke of Sussex accuses William of believing "I was unwell, which meant I was unwise" as he made plans to leave royal duties for a new life in a different country.

In the excerpt from the new book, reported by the Daily Mail, Harry offered to try to mend their relationship with a joint therapy session as it would be "good for you, good for us".

William turned down the offer - but has been vocal in his public support of mental health causes, which he has made one of his key missions.

Prince Harry has spoken about William and Kate in the book (Getty Images)

Harry has not held back in his criticism of William - even mocking his appearance and lack of hair.

During his chat with Anderson Cooper on NBC's 60 Minutes, the American presenter pointed out the harshness of his words.

Cooper said: "You write about a contentious meeting you had with him in 2021.

"You said, 'I looked at Willy, really looked at him maybe for the first time since we were boys. I took it all in, his familiar scowl, which had always been his default in dealings with me, his alarming baldness, more advanced than my own, his famous resemblance to Mummy which was fading with time, with age.'

"That's pretty cutting."

Insisting this was not the case, Harry replied: "I don't see it as cutting at all. Um, you know, my brother and I love each other. I love him deeply.

"There has been a lot of pain between the two of us, especially the last six years. None of anything I've written, anything that I've included is ever intended to hurt my family.

"But it does give a full picture of the situation as we were growing up, and also squashes this idea that somehow my wife was the one that destroyed the relationship between these two brothers."

Buckingham and Kensington Palaces have refused to content on the contents of the book, which hit the shelves on Tuesday.

Spare has been released at all book stores and can be bought online here.

What are your thoughts on Harry's new book? Have your say in the comment section below.

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