Prince William Wasted 40th Milestone Birthday By Leaking Family Gossip, Attacking Prince Harry: Royal Biographer

Prince William celebrated his 40th birthday privately, but royal correspondent and biographer Omid Scobie claimed he wasted it by targeting his younger brother, Prince Harry.

The royal executive editor and co-author of "Finding Freedom" criticized the Duke of Cambridge for allegedly wasting his milestone birthday. Scobie wrote an article for Yahoo! News with the headline" 'Could have fooled me': How Prince William's 40th was wasted taking pot shots at Harry."

According to Scobie, birthdays ending in zeros are often met with "big, splashy puff pieces detailing the achievements, attributes and sartorial successes of the family member." However, he noticed that days before the Duke of Cambridge's birthday, an article by Daily Mail's royal correspondent Rebecca English was published, which Scobie claimed: "promised to reveal the 'true story' of a king in the making, thanks to generous contributions from those closest to William." He alleged that Daily Mail has a complicated relationship with the royal family but "is currently very close."

"Sharing intimate details about or speaking on behalf of a royal as senior as William usually only happens after express permission has been given," Scobie stressed. "My experience with the Duke of Cambridge is that his tight circle of friends will only talk after a nod from the man himself. In the past, those who haven't received such authorization have found themselves in deep trouble."

English's article spoke volumes about Prince William and Prince Harry's fractured relationship. English reportedly spoke with their friends, who told her about how Prince Harry crossed the line and hurt his family by speaking out publicly.

"Instead of hearing more about the Duke's ambitious environmental plans, we were told in detail by close sources that William feels Prince Harry 'has 100 percent crossed that line' by speaking publicly about his struggles within the family," Scobie added.

Scobie said that Prince William's birthday was the perfect chance to highlight his plans for the big job. However, the readers were "presented with the hypocritical story of how awful it is for Harry to speak publicly."

The royal expert also shared how Prince William's senior staff briefed royal reporters that he planned to "phase out the family's 'never complain never explain' mantra." But Scobie ended his piece criticizing the second in line to the throne for allegedly leaking family gossip.

"That outdated rule absolutely does need to go, but starting the process with leaked tales of family fractures you once criticized someone else for sharing probably isn't the best way of going about it," he wrote.

Several netizens defended Prince William after reading Scobie's article.

"You know and I know it was written by Rebecca English. I'd double-check the date of anything that woman has written. William's friends don't speak to the press as you know. This is pure fabrication written by somebody on the 'outside,'" one commented on Scobie's tweet sharing the article.

"Do you have any proof that he leaked? It seems like all the leaks come from the Sussex camp. Just saying," another wrote, asking Scobie.

"Well I've read the piece, it bears no resemblance to your description. Sure it covers the rift, but it covers a lot more besides. Strange that you've waited to comment until today on an article that was published FOUR days ago. You're just stirring the pot," a third person added.