Prince Harry shared a moment when he felt deeply hurt and betrayed after turning to his brother, Prince William, for support following a shocking news article. Harry explained that he felt heartbroken when his brother finally stood by his side.
In his memoir Spare, Harry described an incident that left him struggling emotionally. He recalled how a newspaper ran a seven-page story accusing him of having substance abuse problems, which devastated him. The front-page headline from January 2002 read “Harry’s Drugs Shame.”
Harry called the story “lies,” saying it falsely portrayed him as a regular drug user and claimed he had recently gone to rehab. He explained that the editor had obtained photos of him and a friend visiting a rehab center months earlier as part of his charity work. The journalist twisted these photos to support the false narrative. Harry said he was shocked and horrified when he saw the photos and read the story, imagining everyone in the country believing the accusations.
Harry also felt that people across the Commonwealth were gossiping about him. He even suspected that his father, Charles, and stepmother, Camilla, might have played a role in the story, which left him heartbroken. He wondered if they had helped spread the rumors to make their own lives easier.
He then called his brother, William, but was too upset to speak. William was sympathetic and even angrier about the situation at times, knowing more details about the behind-the-scenes actions that led to this public scandal. However, William also downplayed Harry’s distress, saying nothing could be changed and that this was just part of royal life.
Since then, the brothers have become distant, with reports suggesting they haven’t spoken in months, or possibly even years.
