Prince Harry says Prince William was ‘gone forever’ after his marriage to Kate Middleton in new memoir Spare

“I recall Willy walking her back up the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door…I recall thinking: Goodbye”

Prince William and Kate Middleton with Prince Harry
(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images and Gotham/GC Images/Future)

In his new memoir Spare, Prince Harry has said he felt like his brother, Prince William, was "gone forever" after he married Kate Middleton in 2011.

Prince Harry has revealed that he felt like his older brother, Prince William, was “gone forever” after he married Kate Middleton in 2011.

The claim comes from an excerpt of Harry's upcoming memoir, Spare, which is set for release on 10 January. In the passage, which was published by Page Six, Harry recalled how he felt on William’s wedding day, and shared how he felt his relationship with his older brother was finally over. 

According to the excerpt, Harry said “goodbye” to his brother as he walked his new wife back up the aisle and, using William's childhood nickname Willy, reflected on some of their memories together.

Prince William and Kate Middleton wedding

(Image credit: rota/ Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

He wrote, “The brother I’d escorted into Westminster Abbey that morning was gone — forever. Who could deny it? He’d never again be first a foremost Willy. We’d never again ride together across the Lesotho countryside with capes blowing behind us. We’d never again share a horsey-smelling cottage while learning to fly. Who shall separate us? Life, that’s who.”

“And I recall Willy walking her back up the aisle, and as they disappeared through the door, into the carriage that would convey them to Buckingham Palace, into the eternal partnership they’d pledged, I recall thinking: Goodbye,” he continued.

In the snippet, Harry wrote that the couple's wedding ceremony was “mostly a blank in [his] mind”, though he did remember that Kate looked “incredible” in her dress.

Prince William and Prince Harry

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

As the release of Spare creeps ever closer, Harry has kept media attention on him and his memoir by speaking to a number of TV hosts about his relationship with his family. 

In an upcoming interview with Good Morning America's co-anchor Michael Strahan, Harry said that though he refers to William in his memoir as his “beloved brother and arch nemesis,” he still wants to create “peace” with his family.

“Ultimately, what this all comes down to is, I don’t think that we can ever have peace with my family unless the truth is out there,” he said.

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Royal News and Entertainment writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer for Goodto.com. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.