Disputed claims that Prince Andrew and Prince Harry were involved in a physical altercation that left the former with a bloody nose will remain in a new biography, its author has confirmed.
The Duke of Sussex insisted that the incident had never happened after the book began being serialised in the Daily Mail – and his lawyers sent legal letters to both the newspaper and publisher William Collins. A passage alleging that Andrew told his nephew Meghan Markle was an “opportunist” and that the marriage wouldn’t last was also denied by the prince’s team.
But Andrew Lownie, author of Entitled, which focuses on Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, told an upcoming episode of Newsweek’s The Royal Report podcast that it wouldn’t be removed from the published text.
“Harry wasn’t in my book at all,” the royal expert and historian said. “And I think when the book came in, the publisher said, maybe just out of interest, ‘What was the relationship between Andrew and Harry?’
“So I went to my source and they gave me that little paragraph talking about the altercations in 2013 and then over Meghan in 2017. I didn’t think any of us thought that it was anything but a sort of passing moment.”
“I had to double down with my source and make sure it was accurate, which we believe it is,” he added.
“Collins have responded in a responsible way, they’ve added a line actually, and I recorded the line for the audiobook a couple of days ago, just saying that Harry denies these allegations.
“And I hope that will be the end of it. I mean, I don’t think it’s defamatory. I think it actually presents him in quite a positive light, and certainly, there was no desire to cause offence. It was just a sort of reflection.”
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
