Royal Heart-to-Heart Halted: Prince Harry Gave 'Curt' Two-Word Reply to Prince William When Future King Asked to Meet With Duke

Weeks before Prince Harry released his explosive memoir, Spare, in January 2023, Prince William reportedly reached out to Prince Harry for a "heart-to-heart" meeting. The rebel Duke gave a "curt" two-word reply to his elder brother, based on assumptions of "royal leaks" at Buckingham Palace.

"The day after the documentary aired, William WhatsApped his brother to ask if he could come and see him," royal author Valentine Low revealed. "Initially, Harry was in favor. Then he spoke to his brother again and asked him whom he would tell. William explained that he'd have to clear his schedule, which would mean telling his private secretary."

Low continued: "At that point, Harry told him: Don't come. He was so concerned that William's team would leak the visit to the press that he would rather not see his brother than risk it getting into the papers."

The Duke of Sussex reportedly felt at that time that there was a coordinated "campaign at the palace to undermine and use himself and Meghan Markle as scapegoats for the press," a palace insider spilled in February 2023.

It was also previously believed that William and Harry thus far had not spoken since Queen Elizabeth II's State Funeral in September 2022 due to a "lack of trust."

Out of all of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex' media setbacks in 2023, the Duke's memoir is considered the most "damaging." Several members of his family were criticized in the book, but 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.

Upon its release on January 10 of last year, 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.

Daily Mirror reported on Low's remarks.