Prince Harry observed sensitive matters at time of Queen's death, later released Spare

Prince Harry was effectively "taking notes" around the time of the late Queen's death for his controversial memoir, according to a royal author. 

The Duke of Sussex shocked the world when his contentious autobiography, Spare, hit the shelves last year, just several months after his grandmother's death. In the book, he disclosed private moments with his royal relatives, including details of the day the former monarch died.

Since its publication, Harry's relationship with his family has deteriorated, particularly with his brother, Prince William, whom he accused of physically attacking him during a heated argument at Kensington Palace.

According to Robert Hardman, the respected author of biographies on both King Charles and the late Queen, the fallout from the book continues to affect Harry more than a year later.

According to the Independent, he told the Hay Literary Festival: "The problem that exists is, at the moment, there is still a trust issue. People are still very wounded, particularly Prince William, that these intimate private childhood family moments all spilled out in Harry's book. It's not what Harry said, it's the fact that he said it, and he gave away so many secrets. And he was, effectively, at the time of the Queen’s death, you know, he was taking notes."

During his appearance at the festival, the author, who had behind-the-scenes access during the Coronation, was asked about how Charles had been affected by the situation with this younger son. And he said the King finds it unsettling and that it "makes him unhappy".

He added: "There he is, he's got two sons, one he hardly sees, and two grandchildren he's barely ever seen, and yes, I think he would like some sort of modus vivendi. Clearly, they can’t come back to royal life, I don’t think they want to. And, after all that’s happened, it wouldn’t work."

Last week, reports suggested that Harry, who has a rocky bond with his father, turned down an offer from the King to stay in a royal residence on his recent visit to the UK earlier this month.