Prince Harry claims Charles made joke about ‘heir and a spare’ on day Diana gave birth to second son

Harry made the claim in an excerpt from his new book, Spare, while he was explaining the title of the bombshell autobiography.

Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry.

Prince Harry claims his father made a crass joke to his mother Diana on the day she gave birth to her second son.

The Duke of Sussex claimed the then-Prince of Wales told Diana on the day Harry was born: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare - my work is done.”

He made the claim in an excerpt from his new book, Spare, while he was explaining the title of the bombshell autobiography.

Stay up to date with the latest news on the British Royals with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer available for a limited time only >

Cahrles and Diana hold Harry outside the Lindo Wing following his birth. (Photo by John Shelley Collection/Avalon/Getty Images)

It is not the only time Charles gets a mention in the new book, which will be released next week but has fallen into the hands of the Guardian a few days early.

Harry also details a meeting he had with his father and brother, Prince William, following Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

The Duke of Sussex claims that Charles stood between his two sons, “looking up at our flushed faces”, and begged them: “Please boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”

The publication also shared an extract detailing arguably Harry’s most explosive allegation to date: That William grew physically violent with him in an argument over his wife, Meghan Markle.

After a “piping hot” William reportedly confronted him in his home about her “rude” behaviour in 2019, Harry alleges that he attempted to calm his brother down but that he “came at” him.

Charles gets mentioned more than once in Harry’s new book (Photo by Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

“He set down the water, 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,” Harry wrote.

“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.”

These early jaw-dropping revelations in the yet-to-be-released book are just the latest in a string of bombshells from Harry and Meghan, which began after they quit royal duties and settled their family in California.

In their most recent tell-all, the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Harry lifted the lid on his “terrifying” showdown with Charles and William during the infamous “Sandringham Summit” in 2020, in which he hinted at his brother’s temper.

“I went in with the same proposal that we’d already made publicly, but once we got there, I was given five options – one being, all in, no change; five being, all out. I chose option three in the meeting, half in, half out. Have our own jobs, but also work in support of the Queen. But it became very clear, very quickly, that that goal was not up for discussion or debate,” Harry said.

“It was very terrifying to have my brother [Prince William] scream and shout at me, and my father [then-Prince Charles] say things that just simply weren’t true – and my grandmother, quietly sit there and sort of take it all in.”

The Duke of Sussex dug the boot in further, describing how his brother’s press office had put out a joint statement on behalf of them both without first consulting him – which denied reports William had “bullied” Harry.

Prince Harry’s new book comes out next week

“Once I got in the car, after the [Sandringham] meeting, I was told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brother’s name, squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family,” he said in the Netflix series.

He was referring to a newspaper article published at the time which alleged that William had “bullied” Harry and Meghan, which had seen them “pushed away” from the royal family.

The statement of denial, released on January 13, read: “Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge.

“For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”

Harry admitted he “couldn’t believe it” when he read the statement, which had apparently been co-signed by him.

“No one had asked me. No one had asked my permission to put my name to a statement like that. And I rang [Meghan] and I told her, and she burst into floods of tears,” he said.

“Because within four hours, they were happy to lie to protect my brother, and yet for three years they were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”

Despite the accusations, Harry admitted in an interview ahead of his book release that he was still open to a reconciliation with his brother and father.