The Duke of Sussex has spoken in depth about his role as ‘spare’ – and when he confronted Prince William about his sad fears for the future, he apparently got shut down

Harry said his brother made it clear that Charlotte and Louis are not his ‘responsibility’(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Prince Harry has made much of the fact he is the younger brother to the heir – tellingly, he named his explosive tell-all memoir Spare in a nod to his position in the royal family. And his personal struggles with the role saw him reach out to Prince William to express his concerns for Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Harry recalled the moment in an interview with the Telegraph to promote his book. Describing himself as “someone who likes to fix things”, he said: “If I see wrongdoing and a pattern of behaviour that is harming people, I will do everything I can to try and change it.” And, he claimed, that extended to the other ‘spares’ in the family. “As I know full well, within my family, if it’s not us [pointing to himself] it’s going to be someone else.”

But in response, William is said to have “made it very clear” to Harry that his children are not the Duke’s “responsibility”. Harry said: “And though William and I have talked about it once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility, I still feel a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare. And that hurts, that worries me.”

Harry has said he is concerned for the other ‘spares’ – Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis(Image: Francis Dias/NEWSPIX INTERNATIONAL)

In his memoir, Harry described his “spare” role as “the shadow, the support, the Plan B”. “I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy,” he wrote. He further claimed it was a term used within his family, even by his parents and the Queen, without judgment but as a fact of his life.

He wrote that his father King Charles referred to his younger son as such on the day of his birth, telling his then-wife Princess Diana: “Wonderful! Now you’ve given me an heir and a spare — my work is done.”

Whereas Harry was the only ‘spare’ to older brother William’s ‘heir’, technically both Charlotte and Louis fall under the category thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013.

Prior to that, Charlotte – though older than Louis – would have been leapfrogged by him in the order of succession because he is a male. But thanks to the intervention, she remains third in line to the throne, directly behind George and ahead of Louis, regardless of her gender.

George, Charlotte, and Louis have a very close bond(Image: Tom Maddick / SWNS)

However, royal experts think it’s unlikely that Charlotte and Louis will suffer the same fate as their uncle. Former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, Ailsa Anderson, said in a Channel 5 documentary that George, Charlotte, and Louis are being raised as equals. “This is the key to unpacking and shifting expectations of our heirs and spares,” she added. “The kids have more freedom and choices than their father.”

Princess Kate and Prince William are said to be especially aware that they don’t want Charlotte and Louis to live in their older brother’s shadow. Royal author Phil Dampier told Fabulous: “He (George) is the future King but the way things are going Charlotte and Louis may have major roles in the future. Certainly the royal family will need them as they are getting thin on the ground.

“Prince Harry always felt like ‘The Spare’ but perhaps that won’t happen with Charlotte and Louis as there are two of them and they will support each other, as well as George.”