Harry reveals Diana 'blocked' Charles' first name choice for him
Prince Harry has revealed the name his father, then the Prince of Wales, hoped to give him in when born.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, says in his new book Spare that his late mother Princess Diana had "blocked" his "pa" from calling their second-born son Albert.
In his memoir, which officially went on sale today, he shared that while he was christened Henry Charles Albert David of Wales "from day one everyone called me Harry".
However, he went on to explain – during a vivid description of the Royal Family's Scottish residence Balmoral – that Henry hadn't been the royal's first choice.
In fact, Charles wanted to name him after Queen Victoria's beloved husband Prince Albert – who is his great-great-great-great grandfather.
Officially known as the Prince Consort, the German-born royal was married to the monarch from 1840 until his death in 1861, after which she famously wore only black for the next four decades in tribute to him.
He revealed: "Near Granny's lift, through a pair of crimson saloon doors and along a green tartan floor, was a smallish staircase with a heavy iron banister; it led up to the second floor, where stood a statue of Queen Victoria.
"I always bowed to her as I passed. Your Majesty! Willy did too. We'd been told to, but I'd have done it anyway.
"I found the 'Grandmama of Europe' hugely compelling, and not just because Granny loves her, nor because Pa once wanted to name me after her husband. (Mummy blocked him)."
Watch: What did we learn about Harry’s relationship with Diana in Spare?
The duke was born in 1984, eight years before his parents would officially separate and 12 before their divorce was finalised.
He also revealed that Balmoral, where his grandmother the Queen passed away in September, sits on the site of another castle built in the fourteenth century.
Read more: Royal Family nicknames – surprising monikers from Willy and Harold to Tips and Cabbage
He explained that it was within a few generations of its construction that another Prince Harry "got himself exiled".
The medieval royal then "came back and annihilated everything in sight. My distant kin. My kindred spirit, some would claim".
