The Duke of Sussex exposed the royal who first called him ‘spare’
Prince Harry reveals name of royal who labelled him ‘spare’
Video Player is loading.
Prince Harry sent shockwaves around the world as he exposed the royal family member who first called him a ‘spare’.

The Duke of Sussex revealed how he got the unpleasant nickname by a senior working royal on the day he was born.

Prince William’s younger brother Harry left everyone in surprise with claims about the royal family in his book Spare, which hit the shelves in January 2023.

One of Harry’s claims was about how his father, King Charles, was the first member of the royal family to called him a “spare”, in an alleged conversation with his late mother, Princess Diana, on the day he was born.

The Duke, who said the term was later often used to describe him, wrote in his memoir: “I heard the story of what Pa allegedly said to Mummy the day of my birth: ‘Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an Heir and a Spare—my work is done.’

“A joke. Presumably. On the other hand, minutes after delivering this bit of high comedy, Pa was said to have gone off to meet with his girlfriend. So. Many a true word spoken in jest.”

Elsewhere, Harry alleged that he was “the shadow, the supporting actor, the plan B.” He added: “I was brought into this world in case something happened to Willy.”

The Prince’s alleged revelations are believed to have widened his feud with the royals even further even though he left out several stories about the King and his older brother Prince William.

“It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out,” according to Harry.