4 Times Prince William Made Harry’s ‘Spare’ Status Impossible to Ignore

Prince William and Prince Harry may have grown up together, but the two brothers were often not raised the same way. Their different positions in the royal family meant there were certain differences between them, which made Harry's 'spare' status impossible to ignore. Harry himself pointed out several of these moments in his memoir Spare, when he felt the true extent of the ‘heir and spare’ dynamic.

Even their childhood bedroom allegedly reflected the difference in positions. In Spare, Harry recalled that he and William shared a nursery at Balmoral that had been divided into two sections. He wrote, “Willy had the larger half, with a double bed, a good-sized basin, a cupboard with mirrored doors, a beautiful window looking down on the courtyard, the fountain, the bronze statue of a roe deer buck.” The Duke of Sussex explained that the difference was clear: “My half of the room was far smaller, less luxurious. I never asked why. I didn’t care. But I also didn’t need to ask. Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare.”

Harry’s wedding planning also gave him another reminder of the difference between his and William’s royal roles. According to HELLO!, while discussing possible venues with William, Harry revealed in Spare that he suggested Westminster Abbey, where William had married Kate, but his brother quickly dismissed the idea. Harry then put forward St. Paul’s Cathedral as another option, but William was reportedly just as opposed to the idea and replied, “Too grand. Plus Pa and Mummy did it there.” William instead suggested Tetbury, a Gloucestershire town near King Charles's Highgrove estate, where the brothers spent much of their childhood. Harry appeared surprised by the suggestion, asking, "Seriously, Willy? How many does that place seat?" William then reminded him by saying, “Isn't that what you said you wanted—a small, quiet wedding?”

Harry also found himself out of the loop when it came to a statement issued in both brothers’ names. In January 2020, William and Harry's offices released a joint statement denying reports that William had bullied Harry and Meghan out of the royal family. Harry later explained in his Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan that he had not been asked about the statement before it was released. “To see my brother's office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking. No one asked me permission to put my name into a statement like that… Within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother.”

The tension over their different roles also followed Harry into his working life. When he decided to focus on the climate crisis, he said William quickly made his feelings known. “Africa was ‘his thing,’” William allegedly told him. Harry wrote in Spare, “And he had the right to say this, or felt he did, because he was the Heir. It was ever in his power to veto my thing, and he had every intention of exercising, even flexing, that veto power.” He added that the disagreement became so heated that they “almost came to blows.”