Prince Harry is denying claims he got in a physical altercation with his uncle, Prince Andrew, over a decade ago, after Andrew reportedly questioned the legitimacy of the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his now-wife, Meghan Markle.
“I can confirm neither of those things are true,” a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex told Us Weekly in a Saturday, August 2, statement. “Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make those comments about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry.”
The Duke’s denial comes after an excerpt of a new book, titled Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, was published in the Daily Mail, which alleged that Prince Harry and Prince Andrew engaged in a “heated argument” during a 2013 family gathering. According to the book, “something Andrew said behind Harry’s back” quickly led to blows, in which “punches were thrown” that allegedly left Andrew with a bloody nose.
According to the book, Andrew called the Duchess of Sussex an “opportunist” and allegedly claimed her marriage to Prince Harry wouldn’t last.
Us has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
The new allegations come amid an ongoing feud with Prince Harry and prominent members of the royal family, including his father, King Charles, and his brother, Prince William.
“I think that Harry’s relationship with his brother is a different beast than his relationship with his father,” royal expert Kristen Meinzer exclusively told Us. “But perhaps if Charles warms more to Harry, William will feel compelled to follow his lead.”
The Duke of Sussex’s estrangement from both his father and brother hit a fever pitch in 2020, when he and Markle stepped away from their duties as senior members of the royal family and relocated to Montecito, California. The publication of Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, only furthered the divide between the royal family.
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry Kate Green/Getty Images
The new book also comes amid renewed interest over now-deceased convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, of whom Prince Andrew had a documented relationship. In 2019, Prince Andrew and Epstein were accused of sexual abuse and sex trafficking by Virgina Giuffre, who died by suicide earlier this year.
Prince Andrew denied any wrongdoing, saying in a now notorious November 2019 BBC interview that he had no memory of meeting Giuffre despite there being a picture of the pair together when his accuser was underage.
Giuffre later filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew in August 2021. According to court documents obtained by Us at the time, the lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.
In the wake of her death by suicide, David Boies, a prominent lawyer and Giuffre’s former attorney, said he wanted Prince Andrew to apologize.
“I think that he needs to take responsibility for what he did,” Boies shared on the April 28 episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored. “Virginia was always more interested in fighting the sin than attacking the sinner, and I think that she would have accepted Prince Andrew taking responsibility and would have recognized that. I think that it’s not too late. It’s never too late.”
Us reached out to Prince Andrew’s attorney for comment at the time.
“I’d like him to say, ‘I’m sorry,’” Boies added. “I’d like him to be more direct than that. I’d like him to say, even if he doesn’t remember what happened, I think he needs to recognize that he clearly hd sex with young girls, with Jeffrey Epstein. I mean, he may not remember that it was Virginia, but he can’t forget the event. And he needs to just come clean.”
If you or anyone you know has been sexually abused, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
