The Duke of Sussex reflected on a moment in his memoir Spare that left him feeling “hurt” by his brother Prince William.

Prince William walking with Prince Harry in suits

The brothers had problems before their latest rift (Image: EDDIE MULHOLLAND/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

It is well-known that Prince William and Prince Harry have been in a rift for the last few years, however it appears this is not the only time the once-close brothers have fallen out.

According to The Mirror, Prince William emotionally hurt his younger brother Harry with a brutal comment when they both attended Eton College.

In September 1998 when Harry was old enough to move to the prestigious school where his brother William was studying, the Duke of Sussex said that he had been excited to be close to his sibling again until William made one comment to him.

In his memoir Spare, Harry admitted that his older brother did not feel the same, which left him feeling hurt and confused.

In an interview promoting his book, Harry sat down with 60 Minutes’ Anderson Cooper and claimed his brother rejected him when he moved to the college in Windsor.

Cooper said to Harry: “Your brother told you, ‘Pretend we don’t know each other’.”

Recalling the incident, Harry said: “Yeah, and at the time it hurt. I couldn’t make sense of it. I was like, ‘What do you mean? We’re now at the same school. Like, I haven’t seen you for ages, now we get to hang out together.’

“He’s like, ‘No, no, no, when we’re at school we don’t know each other.’ And I took that personally.”

The Duke, who will be turning 40 on Sunday, since admitted that he now understands what Prince William meant.

He told ITV: “I get how irritating the younger sibling can be to the older sibling. “But in the moment, at the time, I didn’t – I didn’t really grasp that, I didn’t really realise it, but yes, I’ve always loved my brother.”

Prince William and Prince Harry as children in army clothes

The young princes sometimes had disagreements growing up (Image: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

The brothers are currently not believed to be on speaking terms since Harry’s bombshell memoir Spare, which was released last year.

The two princes were in the same room last month for the funeral of a Spencer relative last month, however the pair did not speak and Harry was not invited to stay at a royal residence.

Instead, the Duke stayed with his mother Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer at Althorp House, where he has also been invited to spend Christmas