'Villain' vs. Montecito Saint: How Prince Harry's 'Spare' Made Prince William the Bad Guy in Duke's 'Own Little World'

Out of all of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's media setbacks in 2023, the Duke of Sussex's memoir, Spare, is considered the most "damaging." Several members of his family were criticized in the book, but Prince William seemed to get this more than anybody else.

"We thought it might be the King and the Queen who were the villains of the piece, but it actually turned out to be his older brother," royal expert Rebecca English shared.

"They did everything together, so to see that explode once and for all so nastily was actually really sad to see," she added.

Upon its release on January 10, the tome contained two key passages that have dominated headlines about it ever since. One was Harry's recounting of an alleged physical altercation he had with his brother in 2019. Harry claimed William threw him to the ground in a fit of rage, which caused his back to land on and break a dog's water bowl on the floor. He further stated how his brother and Kate Middleton encouraged him to wear the infamous Nazi uniform to a 2005 costume party, which caused a worldwide scandal and cemented his "bad boy" reputation.

The Duke of Sussex frequently made fun of William's "balding head," which led him to "lose his good looks" in recent years. He also accused his older brother of never liking the Duchess of Sussex and never doing anything to defend him or her when it came to toxic press coverage about them.

Another tell-all, Endgame, by Sussex "cheerleader Omid Scobie, has caused more incendiary claims to turn into scandals in recent weeks.

"It's raised uncomfortable situations again for the family, I include Harry and Meghan in that, that they were hopeful in trying to bury. The issue of trust has come up again because people have spoken to Omid Scobie, and I can tell you now that it's not people at Buckingham Palace," English observed.

The fifth in line to the throne has been quite clear about how William and Kate were never receptive to his wife. This has led many observers to point out how the feud that now exists between the couples dates back to before he married Meghan in May 2018.

Once "Megxit" occurred in early 2020, the rift grew slowly until it went nuclear after the December 2022 Netflix documentary and the fiery-haired princes' memoir the following month. 2023's accusations were almost like throwing gasoline on a fire of dislike and disappointment William and Kate were already feeling toward Harry and Meghan.

Daily Mail reported on English's remarks.