Prince Harry's Ghostwriter Recalls Their Biggest Fight — and How …

Prince Harry's Spare ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer is opening up about working with the royal and staying with Harry and Meghan Markle at their Montecito home

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Prince Harry's Spare ghostwriter is sharing his side of the story. In a piece published by The New Yorker on May 8, author J.R. Moehringer shared what it was like working with the Duke of Sussex on his book, including a big fight that ensued between them regarding edits. The 2 a.m. fight over Zoom stemmed from a particular passage that involved Harry's "grueling military exercises" in England where he was captured by pretend terrorists, one of which made a "vile dig" at Princess Diana.

While Prince Harry wanted to end the passage with the comeback he gave one of the participants, Moehringer insisted on keeping it out. "Although this wasn't the first time that Harry and I had argued, it felt different; it felt as if we were hurtling toward some kind of decisive rupture, in part because Harry was no longer saying anything," Moehringer recalled of the fight. "He was just glaring into the camera," he added. "Finally, he exhaled and calmly explained that, all his life, people had belittled his intellectual capabilities, and this flash of cleverness proved that, even after being kicked and punched and deprived of sleep and food, he had his wits about him."

Michael M.

Santiago/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Though the two butted heads at that moment, Moehringer shared other lighthearted moments that occurred between them during the writing process, including how he and his family bonded with Harry and Meghan Markle while visiting their home in Montecito. During one particular trip, he joked that Prince Harry won the heart of his daughter Gracie with "his vast Moana scholarship," noting that his favorite scene is "when Heihei, the silly chicken, finds himself lost at sea." Story continues

The ghostwriter also recalled Meghan's generosity as he visited again without his family and dealt with homesickness. "Harry put me up in his guesthouse, where Meghan and Archie would visit me on their afternoon walks," he noted. "Meghan, knowing I was missing my family, was forever bringing trays of food and sweets." He added that Meghan also sent him home with toys for his children after he left.

Moehringer said he and Prince Harry immediately bonded over the loss of their mothers during their first Zoom meeting. "I wondered if we'd have any chemistry," he said. "We did, and there was, I think, a surprising reason. Princess Diana had died twenty-three years before our first conversation, and my mother, Dorothy Moehringer, had just died, and our griefs felt equally fresh."

"I found his story, as he outlined it in broad strokes, relatable and infuriating," he added. "The way he'd been treated, by both strangers and intimates, was grotesque. In retrospect, though, I think I selfishly welcomed the idea of being able to speak with someone, an expert, about that never-ending feeling of wishing you could call your mom."

Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images Prince Harry

Prince Harry's memoir was released on Jan.

10 and gave a candid look at the Duke of Sussex's life in the royal spotlight. In addition to discussing his mother Princess Diana's death and how it affected him growing up, he also detailed his strained relationship with various members of the royal family, including his brother Prince William.

"While I know much of my life may seem unrelatable, I do think most siblings can relate to struggling with comparisons, and my brother and I are no exception," Harry told PEOPLE exclusively ahead of the book's release. As for what he hoped his family's takeaway is from his memoir, Prince Harry told PEOPLE: "I don't want to tell anyone what to think of it and that includes my family. This book and its truths are in many ways a continuation of my own mental health journey.

It's a raw account of my life -- the good, the bad and everything in between." Though the royal family hasn't publicly commented on Prince Harry's book, a royal insider told PEOPLE that book release was "ghastly" as it was a "massive shadow" of King Charles' coronation, which Harry attended solo on May 6. At the time of Spare's release, a source close to the royal household told PEOPLE Prince William was the most upset by the book, in which Prince Harry referred to his older brother as his "arch nemesis" and claimed that William physically attacked him.

"William is the one who is most upset and needs time to calm down," the source said. "He has been painted as hotheaded and unsympathetic. But I don't think he will back down -- it's whether they can move beyond it and accept that they view things differently."The brothers seemingly didn't interact at the King's crowning ceremony at Westminster Abbey in May and Harry left shortly after the crowning ceremony. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

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