Connect with us

Published

on

Prince Harry reportedly claims he was physically attacked by his brother William during a row over his marriage to Meghan Markle.

The Guardian has obtained a copy of Spare – the Duke of Sussex’s highly anticipated book – days before it was due to hit the shelves.

In a leaked extract, it is alleged that the Prince of Wales grabbed his brother and ripped his necklace before knocking him to the floor.

Watch our Q&A on Harry, his upcoming book and the royal row – live on Sky News at 7pm

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Prince Harry wants his father ‘back’


Harry goes on to claim that William had called the American actress “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.

“It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me,” Harry reportedly wrote in the book.

“I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” the excerpt continued.

The incident allegedly took place at Nottingham Cottage back in 2019 when Harry was living there and started when William arrived and complained about Meghan.

Sky News has approached Buckingham Palace, while Kensington Palace has said it will not be commenting on the allegations.

Read more:
Harry and Meghan’s wedding album – new pictures revealed
Prince Harry’s ability to step in for the King challenged
What to expect from Prince Harry’s memoir

Sky News’ royal correspondent Rhiannon Mills said that these are “very serious allegations”.

She said: “We know in 2019 that the relationship between the two brothers was falling apart, so it wasn’t unexpected to hear that they were not getting along then. But it is shocking to be given this much personal detail.

“In the past there have been criticisms of Harry that he has made damning allegations of racism within the palace or allegations that they have not taken Meghan’s mental health seriously enough and some suggestions that they haven’t gone far enough in naming specifics.

“It seems that Harry, in this book, is not holding back.”

‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this’

Harry writes that his brother was not being rational and they both started shouting at each other, exchanging insults, before William claimed he was trying to help.

“Are you serious? Help me? Sorry – is that what you call this? Helping me?,” Harry said, according to The Guardian’s copy.

His comment supposedly angered William, and the alleged altercation took place after he offered him a glass of water.

Harry added that William urged him to hit back, before leaving and then returning “looking regretful and apologised”.

When he left again, Harry said he “turned and called back: ‘You don’t need to tell Meg about this.'”

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Royals braced for Prince Harry book

Harry told his therapist about the incident first

He goes on to explain that he didn’t immediately tell his wife, but did tell her of the incident after she noticed “scrapes and bruises” on his back.

However, he claimed to have told his therapist first.

The book – which is entitled after the phrase “heir and a spare” – also delves into Harry’s childhood, his school, his career as a royal and the relationship he shares with his parents and brother.

He recounts memories of his mother Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997, and the Queen, who died last year.

Spare, which is due to be released on 10 January, comes after the prince’s recent Netflix documentary into his life with Meghan and their decision to leave the Royal Family.

In the series, it was revealed Meghan suffered a miscarriage, which Harry said was caused by the stress put on her as a result of their lawsuit against the Daily Mail’s parent company, and had suicidal thoughts.

He also claimed that William broke a promise to him never to leak stories or brief against one another after witnessing the fallout of such actions in their father’s office.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Harry and Meghan: Key takeaways

‘I want a family – not an institution’

The duke’s extraordinary book claims come after the release of a teaser trailer from an ITV interview in which Harry said he wants his father and brother back.

The interview, due to be released on Sunday, will be broadcast two days before Spare is published around the world.

In a series of clips from his ITV conversation, Harry tells presenter Tom Bradby: “It never needed to be this way”, and refers to “the leaking and the planting” before adding: “I want a family, not an institution.”

Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts

But in a separate interview with CBS News, set to air the same day, Harry also criticises Buckingham Palace over an alleged failure to defend him and the Duchess of Sussex, before they stepped down as senior royals.

The duke also reveals to the US broadcaster that he would not return to the institution as a full-time royal.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Adele bids tearful farewell to Las Vegas residency as star admits she doesn’t know when she’ll perform next

Published

on

By

Adele bids tearful farewell to Las Vegas residency as star admits she doesn't know when she'll perform next

Adele has bid a tearful farewell to her Las Vegas residency show, as the Someone Like You star admitted she doesn’t know when she’ll perform again next.

The British singer-songwriter, 36, launched Weekends with Adele at Caesars Palace in November 2022 and performed her 100th show there on Saturday.

Her mammoth run of sell-out shows at the venue, which seats around 4,000 people, has been a success but has taken its toll.

In July, Adele said she would be taking a “big break” from music after her current run of shows.

Videos posted online from her concert on Saturday show the singer getting tearful as she bid Vegas goodbye.

“It’s been wonderful and I will miss it terribly and I will miss you terribly,” she said.

She added: “I don’t know when I next want to perform again.”

More on Adele

Adele has performed every Friday and Saturday across the residency, with plenty of memorable moments.

One included when she burst into tears after spotting Celine Dion at a performance.

Adele is known to idolise the Canadian singer.

Read more from Sky News:
Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue
Lauren Laverne ‘all clear’ after cancer
Kanye West accused of sexual assault

Speaking at the beginning of September, during a show in Germany, Adele told fans she wouldn’t see them “for an incredibly long time”.

“I just need a rest and I have spent the last seven years building a new life for myself, and I want to live it now,” she added.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Denzel Washington’s sons talk about family, secrets, identity, and The Piano Lesson

Published

on

By

Denzel Washington's sons talk about family, secrets, identity, and The Piano Lesson

John David Washington says he felt like he had to conceal his desire to act because of the external expectations of him being the child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.

He tells Sky News it took some time for him to pursue an acting career, choosing football instead to assert his “independence” and create his own “identity” separate from his famous family.

“I’ve been wanting to do this my whole life… but I was hiding it,” he said.

“I had to conceal that passion based on my relationship to the world and more specifically, my folks being in the industry, so I chose ball.

“I loved ball, but I was sort of hiding my love for the arts under a helmet – literally an American football helmet – and so when I wanted to become an actor, when I decided to pursue it, that was a big shock to some people.”

The 40-year-old actor says when he decided to pursue an acting career, he kept the decision quiet.

“Some people didn’t know I was even pursuing it professionally until I got a job,” he said.

More on Netflix

Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece and John David Washington as Boy Willie in The Piano Lesson. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix 2024
Image:
John David with fellow actor Danielle Deadwyler. Pic: David Lee/ Netflix

Since switching to acting, John David has starred in a number of notable roles including the protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Ron Stallworth in BlacKkKlansman and Joshua in The Creator.

He also led the stage revival of the 2022 Tony-nominated play The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L Jackson.

“He [Jackson] originated the role [I play] in 1987 at Yale with Lloyd Richards and August Wilson,” John David said.

“So it was of great importance for us to learn from both he and Michael Potts about August Wilson. It was a great blessing for me, I think, for all of us to have him present on set.”

Read more from Sky News:
Squid Game creator: ‘I’ve become numb to the violence’
Rust premieres three years after fatal shooting

The Piano Lesson is the third August Wilson play to be adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington’s production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.

It is part of a pledge made by the Gladiator II actor to make all 10 of the playwright’s works into films.

The Netflix project is directed by another Washington family member, Malcolm, and stars most of the cast from the Broadway revival.

The Piano Lesson (L-R): Actor Ray Fisher, writer-director Malcolm Washington, and his brother and star John David Washington on set. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix 2024
Image:
The Piano Lesson is Malcolm Washington’s directorial debut. Pic: Katia Washington/ Netflix

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, the film centres on a family heirloom, a piano, that is etched with the carvings of their family history made by their enslaved ancestor.

Malcolm says he started reading the play for the first time during the pandemic and immediately wanted to be involved in the film adaptation.

“I think with this movie, reclamation of story and identity is so central to the theme and it’s something that’s central to my life where I both acknowledge the fertile ground that I was raised on and who I am today.

“That’s what Wining Boy [played by Michael Potts] really is trying to do, he’s trying to build on that legacy, so that’s a story that really resonated with me.”

The filmmaker added: “I take all the gifts that my ancestors laid in front of me, and I’m trying to build something for the next generation to pass down – all of their gifts, plus mine to the next generation and let them build on it.”

John David Washington in The Piano Lesson. Pic: David Lee/Netflix
Image:
Malcolm has dedicated his directorial debut to his mother, Pauletta Washington. Pic: David Lee/Netflix

Malcolm says his goal was to put family at the forefront of the production. By dedicating his feature debut to “Mama”, he is acknowledging the dedication and sacrifices that mothers make for the growth of their families.

“There’s so much pointing to my mother in particular, who inspired this adaptation so much. I see so much of her life in Berniece’s character [played by Danielle Deadwyler] – and that became a guiding light for me in this adaptation,” he said.

“As we made this thing and started reconnecting with our ancestors, my mum became like a kind of representative of them.

“She’s the matriarch of our family. She tells me about my grandparents and great-grandparents and the line that I come from, and I see them in her.

“And when the movie ends, I want people to kind of have that moment of reflection for their own lives. So in dedicating it to her, I was trying to dedicate it to all mums everywhere.”

The Piano Lesson is now available on Netflix.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Blockbuster Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue

Published

on

By

Blockbuster Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue

Blockbuster Wicked has landed the largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue International.

The film, starring Oscar-nominated actress Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop star Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, surpassed both Gladiator II and Paddington In Peru.

It has also had the largest opening weekend for a stage musical adaptation in the cinema chain’s history.

A boss for Vue International said it had seen a “sea of pink and green” over the weekend.

Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film.
Pic: PA
Image:
Ariana Grande (left) as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the film. Pic: PA

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Cinemagoers in London's Leicester Square Vue on the opening night of Wicked. 
Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Released on Friday, Wicked is up 60% on Les Miserables’ opening weekend in 2012 and three times larger than the 2022 film adaptation of Matilda.

Founder and chief executive of Vue International Tim Richards said: “Vue has seen a sea of pink and green over the opening weekend of Wicked, which has shown continued high demand for the big screen experience.

“We saw record-breaking pre-sales for Wicked, followed by a chart-topping opening weekend – the biggest for 2024.”

More on Cinema

The film is the first of two parts, with the second expected in November next year.

Wicked and Gladiator II – known together as Glicked – have reportedly failed to beat out Barbenheimer, Barbie and Oppenheimer, in its own opening weekend last summer.

Read more from Sky News:
Leicester City sack manager
Bar staff to be trained to deal with drink spiking
Army officer charged over dummy grenade alert at airport

Glicked brought in £215m in worldwide ticket sales – with Wicked making the majority of that.

Continue Reading

Trending