Prince Harry says 'cold-blooded' Princess Margaret bought him a Biro for ... trends now

Prince Harry has revealed that Princess Margaret only bought him a Biro with a rubber fish around it for Christmas one year - which he saw as 'cold-blooded' - and said he thought he and his 'Aunt Margo' should have been closer. 

In his long-awaited memoir 'Spare', which was released today following a series of interviews and last month's Netflix docu-series 'Harry and Meghan', Harry says his great-aunt was almost a 'total stranger' to him. 

The Duke of Sussex describes one Christmas when the family were together at Sandringham opening presents - and tells the story of a bizarre gift from Princess Margaret. 

Opening the smallest present in his pile first, Harry discovered the Queen's sister had bought him a biro pen with a small rubber fish wrapped around it, which he saw as 'cold-blooded'. 

Harry adds that Margaret 'didn't have much of an opinion' of him. 

And he writes that he too 'felt nothing' for his great aunt except pity - and says he usually tried to keep out of her way. 

Princess Margaret died aged 71 in 2002 when Harry was 17. Her health had deteriorated for the last 20 years of her life - in part the result of heavy smoking. 

She had pneumonia in 1993 and suffered three strokes between 1998 and 2001. She died shortly after a fourth stroke.  

But the prince also shared his wish that he had been closer with Margaret as they had much in common in both being the 'spare' to their older sibling with similar 'rivalry' and 'intense competition'. 

He says: 'We had so much in common. Two spares. Her relationship with Granny wasn't an exact analogue of mine with Willy, but pretty close'.

As Margaret became more ill, Harry began to wish that he'd had more time to get to know her.  

The Duke also draws comparisons

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