Lacey has updatedBattle of Brothers: The Inside Story of a Family in Tumultwith added chapters and new material, and in new excerpts inThe Timesnewspaper in the U.K. published on Saturday, the veteran writer outlines more details of their split.
William, 38, and Harry, 36, were originally said to have fallen out over William’s doubts about the speed at which his brother was moving with his then-girlfriendMeghan Markle.
Prince William and Prince Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral.Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/Getty Images
When William heard those claims and confronted his brother, they had a “fierce and bitter” argument, Lacey writes – leading William to start moves to remove Harry and Meghan from the joint office, or household, they shared.
“William threw Harry out,” a friend tells Lacey.
When the bullying claims first emerged, in theThe Timesin the U.K. in March, the Duchess of Sussex’s office strongly refuted the allegations. The Palaceset up an independent inquiryinto the claims and how they were handled.
Lacey’s book describes an angry confrontation between the princes – first over the phone and then in person when William asked Harry about the bullying claims.
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.Phil Harris - WPA Pool/Getty
Lacey also claims thatKate Middletonhad been “wary of [Meghan] from the start” and says that William told a friend he thought she had an “agenda,” and that the allegations he was now hearing in fall of 2018 appeared to support his initial reservations about Meghan.
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The new excerpts come as the brothers prepare to reunite tounveil a statue commemorating the life of their late mother,Princess Diana, on July 1, which would have been her 60th birthday.
In the first edition of the book, Laceyexplored the rift, rooting the schism in their parents' turbulent marriage.
He said that mounting tensions accompaniedHarry and Meghan Markle’s whirlwind relationship.
“The fundamental conflict was between the two males who had known each other all their lives and had never hesitated to tell each other exactly what they thought and felt,” Lacey wrote. “William worried that his brother was moving too fast in his courtship — and he did not shrink from saying as much when Harry started talking about getting hitched to Meghan quite soon.”
source: people.com
