Prince Harry Says He Didn ’t Choose Prince William As His Best Man, Claims Palace Lied
Instead, the Duke of Sussex chose his “old mate Charlie” for the job.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan's 2018 wedding may have seemed like a fairy tale, but the Duke of Sussex reveals there was more to the milestone day than what met the eye.
The royal writes in his new memoir, Spare, available today, that he didn't actually choose his older brother, Prince William, to be his best man, as Buckingham Palace initially claimed. Harry writes that he instead chose his "old mate Charlie" to fulfill best-man duties.
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Photo: Courtesy
Spare by Prince Harry
The night before his and Meghan's wedding, Harry claims that William "canceled last minute" on plans to get drinks with him and his friends. "He'd told me, just before he attended tea with Granny: Can't do it, Harold. Kate and the kids," Harry writes. "I'd reminded him that this was our tradition, that we'd had dinner before his wedding, that we'd gone together and visited the crowds. He held fast. Can't do it."
The duke says he pushed back against his brother, imploring him, "Why you being like this, Willy? I was with you the whole night before you married Kate. Why you doing this?"
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He continues, "I asked myself what was really going on. Was he feeling bad about not being my best man? Was he upset that I'd asked my old mate Charlie? (The Palace put out the story that Willy was the best man, as they'd done with me when he and Kate married.) Could that be part of it?"
The royal brothers stand side-by-side at Harry and Meghan’s wedding. (Photo: WPA Pool / Getty Images)
The royal brothers stand side-by-side at Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
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Harry previously alleged that William also did not choose him as best man for his wedding, when he married Catherine, Princess of Wales, in 2011. Acting as the best man for their ceremony at Westminster Abbey was a "bare-faced lie," Harry writes in his memoir.
This article originally appeared on Harper's BAZAAR US.