Prince Harry: I saw red mist in William. He wanted to hit me

The Duke of Sussex reveals more details about an incident in which he claims Prince William knocked him to the floor

Prince William and Prince Harry march during a procession to bring their late grandmother's coffin to the Houses of Parliament for her lying in state. Reuters
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Prince Harry has spoken about seeing “the red mist” in his brother during a confrontation in which he alleged Prince William knocked him to the floor.

In a newly-released clip from ITV's forthcoming interview with the Duke of Sussex, he reveals more alleged details about the 2019 incident at his flat in Nottingham Cottage, Kensington Palace.

“He wanted me to hit him back, but I chose not to,” he tells Tom Bradby.

“What was different here was the level of frustration, and I talk about the red mist that I had for so many years, and I saw this red mist in him.”

The duke has told of the confrontation in his autobiography Spare — an extract of which was leaked by The Guardian on Thursday.

In the book, Prince Harry wrote: “[William] called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.

“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”

In other revelations, Prince Harry's book claims:

  • He took cocaine
  • The prince killed 25 people in Afghanistan
  • Prince Harry believes his brother is his “arch nemesis”
  • Prince William called Meghan, Prince Harry’s wife, “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”
  • The brothers call each other Willy and Harold
  • Prince Harry and Prince William begged their father not to marry Camilla as they feared she would be a “wicked stepmother”
  • Prince William and Kate encouraged him to wear the Nazi uniform
  • Prince Harry claims a psychic told him his mother said he was living the life “she couldn’t” but “wanted” for him
  • Prince Harry still wants reconciliation with his family

The short clip from the ITV interview, which is due to be aired on Sunday, also showed Harry addressing the drug use detailed in Spare.

Mr Bradby tells the duke: “There's a fair amount of drugs [in the book]. Marijuana, magic mushrooms, cocaine. I mean, that's going to surprise people.”

The duke appears to agree and says it was “important to acknowledge”.

The royal also states he wants to reconcile with his family — something which he says cannot happen without “some accountability”.

“I want reconciliation,” he says, “but, first, there needs to be some accountability”.

The duke also says: “The truth, supposedly, at the moment, has been there's only one side of the story, right? But, there's two sides to every story.”

Prince William and Prince Harry through the years — in pictures

In a separate clip released by Good Morning America, which is also airing an interview with the prince, he said the rift with his brother would make their mother Princess Diana “sad”.

It comes after Prince Harry reportedly alleged in his book his brother had called his American wife Meghan “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive” — comments which the younger brother said parroted “the press narrative” about his wife.

The Guardian, which first reported the dispute, said it was able to obtain a copy of the book, due to be published on January 10, despite strong security measures around its release.

In an earlier-released teaser of the ITV interview, Prince Harry said he was publishing his memoirs because he did not know “how staying silent is ever going to make things better”.

Prince William, Prince Harry and wives make joint appearance — in pictures

The full ITV interview is due to be broadcast two days before Spare's publication and, in a trailer, Mr Bradby asks: “Wouldn't your brother say to you, 'Harry, how could you do this to me after everything? After everything we went through?' Wouldn't that be what he would say?”

Prince Harry replied: “He would probably say all sorts of different things.”

Mr Bradby, a former royal correspondent and current presenter of ITV News at Ten, is a friend of the Sussexes and has previously interviewed them for a documentary about their 2019 Africa tour.

He told the duke: “Some people will say you've railed against invasions of your privacy all your life but the accusation will be here are you invading the privacy of your most nearest and dearest without permission, that will be the accusation.”

Prince Harry answered: “That will be the accusation from people that don't understand or don't want to believe that my family have been briefing the press.”

Asked if he will attend his father's coronation later this year, he said: “There's a lot that can happen between now and then but the door is always open, the ball is in their court.

“There is a lot to be discussed and I really hope they are willing to sit down and talk about it.”

Prince Harry said he still believes in the monarchy but when asked if he believes he will play a part in its future he said: “I don't know.”

Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have not commented on his allegations.

The show, called Harry: The Interview, will be broadcast on ITV1 and ITX at 9pm on January 8.

Updated: January 06, 2023, 11:50 AM