Does Prince Harry mention Prince Andrew in new book? What Duke of Sussex says about Duke of York in Spare

In his upcoming memoir Spare, Harry will speak about Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, a subject that the rest of the royal family has been keen to avoid. Excerpts from the memoir that have been seen by the press suggest that Harry will discuss how his uncle was able to maintain his palace security whilst Harry, his wife Meghan Markle, and their two children lost access.

Harry has spoken out about the royal family on several occasions since he and Meghan moved out of the UK in 2019. They spoke on Oprah about their security situation in March 2021, and late in December last year their six-part Netflix documentary was released. On Sunday (8 January) interviews with Harry on ITV and CBS aired, and later this week his memoir Spare, expected to contain more allegations aimed at his family, will be released.

What does Prince Harry say about Prince Andrew in Spare?

In his upcoming bombshell memoir, Spare, Prince Harry has reportedly spoken about his uncle Prince Andrew. The rest of the royal family has largely avoided making public comments about the disgraced Prince, but Harry will break his silence in his memoir, calling the allegations Andrew faces a ‘shameful scandal’, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

Andrew resigned from public roles in 2020 after receiving criticism for his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. His military affiliations and royal charitable patronages were removed by his mother Queen Elizabeth II in early 2022. Andrew also settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre out of court in February 2022. Giuffre had alleged that Epstein had sex-trafficked her to Andrew when she was 17 years old in 2014.

Harry also claims in his book that he did not think his palace security would be removed considering Andrew was able to keep his despite the allegations surrounding him. He is reported to have written: “People have had plenty of reasons to complain about us, sex crimes weren’t one of them”.

He added that he never imagined that security would be removed after  “what happened to my mother”. Harry’s mother Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris as the car she was travelling in attempted to flee paparazzi.

Harry continued: “Also, not in the wake of my Uncle Andrew. Despite being embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of sexually assaulting a young girl, no one had even suggested removing his security.”

The content of Harry’s memoir has been kept under wraps by the publisher, Penguin Random House, but due to leaks and an accidental release in Spain ahead of schedule, some content has been shared in the press.

Did Harry and Meghan lose their royal security?

Harry and Meghan stepped back from their role as senior royals and moved to Canada in late 2019. In 2020 the couple lost access to the security provided for senior royals which is paid for by the government - the amount this costs is not disclosed by the treasury.

Since losing access to palace security, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have had to fund their multi-million pound private security costs whilst living in Canada, and later the US, by themselves. King Charles is believed to have initially contributed to the costs of the couple’s security, but this financial support ended some time ago.

Harry challenged a Home Office decision to deny him access to Metropolitan Police protection when visiting the UK even in the case of him covering the cost himself. Harry and Meghan were reported to have earned around £82 million for their Netflix documentary deal, and Harry is estimated to have been paid around £16 million for his memoir.

In December 2022 it was reported by The Telegraph that Andrew’s tax-payer funded security would be replaced by private security at an estimated annual cost of £3 million - however Charles is expected to pay the bill.

When will Spare be published?

Spare will be published in the UK and internationally on Tuesday 10 January. Some copies of the Spanish edition, En La Sombra (In the Shadow) were published on 5 January by mistake.