Harry Shares Heartbreaking Story About How Prince William Treated Him at School: ‘It Hurt...’

Prince Harry reportedly once struggled to adjust in school. In a 2023 interview with journalist Anderson Cooper, the Duke of Sussex described his time at Eton College as challenging. He also opened up about how his brother, Prince William, treated him in front of their peers. According to Harry, William’s behavior at the time left him feeling ‘hurt.’

Harry was enrolled in Eton College, a prestigious boarding school for boys, from 1998 to 2003. As reported by Hello! magazine, Harry told Cooper that when he first arrived at Eton, he was told by William to act as if they didn’t know each other. He added, “At the time, it hurt. I couldn’t make sense of it. I was like, ‘What do you mean? We’re now at the same school.” The Duke, however, admitted that William’s behavior is typical of older siblings trying to establish independence. He added that William’s decision to distance himself was something he took ‘personally’ at the time.

In his memoir, Spare, Harry also opened up about how he found it hard to settle into one particular group in school. Describing the social structure among students—‘dry bobs’ playing land-based sports like rugby and football, and ‘wet bobs’ focused on rowing or swimming, Harry penned, “I was a dry, who occasionally got wet. I played every dry sport, though rugby captured my heart.” He claimed that while sports helped, they didn’t solve the broader issue of feeling like an outsider. So he claimed he often used rugby as an outlet to release his frustrations. He explained, “I simply didn't feel pain the way other boys did, which made me scary on a pitch.”

Unlike his brother, William reportedly thrived during his time at Eton. As reported by Town & Country magazine, he also broke royal tradition when he became the first senior royal to enroll in the school in Berkshire, England. Previously, King Charles and his father, Prince Philip, went to a boarding school in Scotland, Gordonstoun.

Interestingly, in 2023, the Prince and Princess of Wales were spotted visiting Eton. This fueled speculation that the Waleses are considering sending their son, Prince George, to the school. Eton College has a long history of being associated with the royal family and British aristocracy. The late Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, and her father, John Spencer, were both alumni of the college. Additionally, the late Queen Elizabeth’s cousins, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Prince Michael of Kent, all attended Eton. Although Harry had a hard time at school, he has fond memories of his training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2006. In his Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan, the Prince said that he was 'grateful' to have been “working and living with normal people” there as a royal.