How Prince Harry And Prince William's Relationship Has Worsened In The Year Since The Queen's Death

On September 19, 2022, Prince William and Prince Harry attended the funeral of their beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. At the time, it was believed that tensions were already brewing between the two brothers. However, the pair seemed to co-exist peacefully as they said their final goodbyes to the Queen. As noted by CBS News, William and Harry seemed "united" as they walked beside each other in the procession behind Queen Elizabeth's casket. What's more, royal expert Tina Brown told the outlet, "It's wonderful that they're walking side by side, because it sends that message of, this is so much bigger, this ceremony, than any temporary feud."

At one point, William even seemed to show his younger brother a small gesture of support. As the brothers entered St. George's Chapel for the Queen's committal service, it remained unclear who would enter the pews first. In the midst of this awkward moment, it seems, William allowed Harry to go ahead of him. Speaking to the Daily Mail, lip-reading specialist Jacqui Press claimed that Harry first asked his brother, "Shall we go through first?" To this, William apparently told Princess Catherine, "Let them go through first."

This simple act of kindness led some royal fans to wonder if the brothers were on the cusp of a reconciliation. However, not long after the funeral, William and Harry's relationship disintegrated further. Thanks to Harry's involvement in several tell-all projects, things between him and William have only appeared to worsen following the Queen's death.

In the months following Queen Elizabeth II's death, Prince Harry made a number of bombshell allegations against the royal family. This was certainly evident in December 2022, when the redheaded prince appeared in his controversial Netflix documentary series "Harry & Meghan." Throughout the series, Harry hinted that there was drama bubbling between him and Prince William. At one point, he even accused his older brother of verbal abuse, stating, "It was terrifying to have [William] scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren't true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in" (via CNBC).

Sadly, it is believed that Harry's public accusations only made his relationship with William go from bad to worse. As one royal insider told Us Weekly, "William was hoping they could move on after the CBS interview, but Harry airing his dirty laundry has only heightened the conflict between the two brothers and resulted in them taking a step backward." Apparently, the elder prince was upset about the way Harry brought private disagreements into the public eye. The same anonymous source added that William was "disappointed with Harry for portraying him and the [royal] family in a cynical light." What's more, it has been reported that William and Princess Catherine did not watch the Netflix special so as not to contribute to the hype surrounding Harry's tell-alls.

If Prince William was said to be displeased by the Netflix series "Harry & Meghan," his reaction to royal bombshell "Spare" was allegedly even worse. Indeed, the heir to the throne was rumored to be incensed with some of the allegations that Prince Harry made in the controversial memoir. One royal insider even told People, "William is the one who is most upset [by the book's publication] and needs time to calm down."

Naturally, the elder prince's alleged reaction to the book does not seem to be without merit. Throughout "Spare," Harry appears to be goading his older brother on. As revealed in book excerpts published in Newsweek, the redheaded rebel wrote that William had "alarming baldness, more advanced than my own" and a "resemblance to Mummy, which was fading with time." Of course, Harry made more serious allegations as well, at one point claiming that William "grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dogs' bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me."

According to some sources, Harry's tell-all will make it challenging for the two brothers to reconcile. As one anonymous insider told Us Weekly, William "doesn't see" how Harry can "come back into the [royal] fold" after everything that has been made public. The individual added that William has "come to terms with the fact [that] he's lost his little brother ... quite possibly for life."

Perhaps due to all this bad blood, it has been said that Prince William did not want Prince Harry to be invited to King Charles III's coronation. And, apparently, the Prince of Wales was not the only royal who felt this way. Rumor has it that Queen Camilla also had mixed feelings about facing her stepson after everything that he wrote about her in "Spare." As one palace courtier told Radar, "Camilla agrees with Prince William [that inviting Harry to the coronation] was a spineless move." Apparently, the two were of the opinion that "Charles should have banished Harry and Meghan [Markle] from the kingdom instead — sending the clear message their traitorous poison won't be tolerated."

While it's impossible to determine if these rumblings are true, other sources have also alleged that William had intense feelings about Harry's presence at the ceremony. One royal insider told the Daily Beast that the elder prince is already planning to exclude Harry from his own coronation one day. "It's very clear that William and Kate [Middleton] are now extremely important members of the institution, so their view on Harry, which is basically the further away the better, will have to be taken into account. Put it this way: I don't think anyone expects Harry to get an invite to William's coronation." Because of these negative feelings, William and Harry did not reportedly interact on the day of the coronation.

Just weeks after his coronation, King Charles III held a massive celebration in honor of his "symbolic" birthday. The event, known in the U.K. as Trooping the Colour, was a massive royal affair — but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were not invited. And apparently, the couple was not happy about the snub. Ok! even quoted an anonymous source, who alleged that "Charles still hasn't invited Harry to the Trooping the Colour. It's a real thorn in the thigh for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. I doubt they would've attended anyways, but for Harry, it's the principle."

While the Sussexes might have been displeased, it has been suggested that Prince William and Princess Catherine were thankful for it. In fact, one royal insider told In Touch that the Waleses were "relieved" to learn that Harry and Meghan would not be present at the grand event. The source claimed, "William and Kate are relieved that their archenemies, Harry and Meghan, aren't attending the Trooping the Colour. Kate can't stand the sight of Meghan and the feeling is mutual" (via Yahoo! Entertainment).

Of course, Meghan and Catherine were hardly the only two royals whose rivalry could have ruined Charles' big day. Harry and William's feud could have also created an uncomfortable ambiance at the festivities. Speaking to In Touch, the same source elaborated, "There's no love lost between Harry and William. Their relationship is frosty."

Some frenemies might delete pictures of each other on social media, but Prince Harry and Prince William might have taken things up a notch. When the National Portrait Gallery reopened in 2023, it was reported that a famous 2010 portrait of William and Harry would be missing from the gallery wall. Writing for The Times, royal expert Valentine Low suggested that this was no accident. "The painting might be regarded as a painful reminder of the rift at the heart of the royal family ... One that has particular resonance for the gallery's patron, the Princess of Wales" (via ArtNet). 

According to the portrait's creator, Nicola Philipps, the dynamic between the two brothers has changed dramatically since she painted them. In a 2022 interview with The Sunday Times, Philipps recalled, "William and Harry sat for five sessions of one-and-a-half hours each — three times together, twice separately." As she captured their likeness, the artist apparently noticed how well the two princes got along. She later remembered that the pair "were looking at each other, talking and laughing ... They were both utterly charming, quick-witted, and great fun. Harry was a very different man back then" (via She Finds). Unfortunately, however, things between Harry and William have since gone south. Now, royal fans have been left to wonder if the brothers' feud is so bad that they can't even hang their picture on the wall.