The Truth About Prince William And Prince Harry's Relationship

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Prince William and Prince Harry are two of the world's most famous brothers, and the future heir to the British throne and his younger sibling have grown up in the world's spotlight. As the children of Princess Diana and Prince Charles, who is next in line for the throne, every move the two have made over the years has been publicly scrutinized and often photographed. Growing up, William and Harry were close, with few people able to understand their fishbowl existence and the loss of their mother Diana bonding them forever. 

Sadly, as William and Harry have matured into husbands and fathers, they endured a very public rift, with Harry leaving England. However, their relationship was reportedly later repaired. So what is the brothers' relationship really like and how has it been throughout the years? Let's take a look back at the royal brothers' bond and discover the truth about Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship.

Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine and author of more than 20 books on the British royal family, revealed details about the differences between the way young Prince Harry was treated on the Channel 4 documentary Meghan and Harry: The Baby Years, according to the Daily Mail.

Seward said that Princess Diana, who had a stunning transformation in her life, was mindful of Prince Harry's place in the pecking order and was "very anxious" her second-born didn't feel second-best next to his older brother, the future heir. By contrast, the Queen Mother would occasionally play favorites, according to Seward: "The Queen Mother used to say, 'Come on William come and sit next to me,' and little Harry would be completely left out." One can only imagine how that affected young Harry's psyche.

Of course, it wasn't all bad for poor Harry. When the Queen Mother died, she left Harry "the bulk" of her £14 million estate, according to BBC News, as William would be set when he became King.

Prince William and Prince Harry attended the same boarding school, the famously posh Eton College, a stone's throw from Windsor Castle counting 19 prime ministers as graduates, according to BBC News in 2010. Although William and Harry were at Eton at the same time, they weren't as close as in previous years and their experiences at the school were very different.

In a piece for The Cut, former classmates revealed some surprising details. Popular Prince William was naturally at the top of the pecking order and was "like a homecoming-king type." But according to one classmate, Harry was not like his brother in that way. "I think Harry probably had it harder finding his way," the same source said. Fortunately, regardless of how they acted and were received, both were mostly treated like everybody else. "The attitude towards them was very matter of fact," the classmate shared.

The differences between William and Harry continued to grow while at Eton, revealed royal biographer Katie Nicholl in her book William and Harry. "While William had grown out of childish pranks and immersed himself in his studies, Harry earned a reputation for being the class clown," she wrote, according to Express.

When imagining royal brothers, it's easy to picture them communicating entirely through white-gloved staff... but the reality is very different. When Prince William and Prince Harry sat down with Matt Lauer at Clarence House in 2007 for an interview with the Today show, as covered by NBC News, they revealed that they're just like everybody else (for the most part).

"We are slightly normal," Harry cracked when Lauer asked disbelievingly if they communicated via text and email, adding, "We contact each other the normal way: text message, phone calls." William agreed, noting, "Usually he's left something at home and I have to bring it for him."

During the interview, William and Harry teased each other. When Lauer asked if William could be called "studious, thoughtful, dutiful, proper," Harry jokingly replied, "I'm sure that's fantastic that the American people think that of William," adding, "As long as we want to be fools, we can." The brothers' easy rapport is equal parts heartwarming and hilarious.

Few have had to endure public scrutiny while grieving as Prince William and Prince Harry did. Losing their mother, Princess Diana, in the spotlight bonded them forever, said Diana's biographer Andrew Morton in Royals Monthly, according to Us Weekly.

"Their relationship is incredibly intimate," Morton said. "Nobody apart from each other knows exactly — not even their father — what's gone on in their heads and their hearts for the last 20-odd years." The loss of their mother meant that the only people they could truly let their guards down in front of was each other, an experience that bonded them for life.

When Harry gave a speech on the tenth anniversary of their mother's death, he revealed, as reported by Us Weekly, that he and William "can separate life into two parts," the years with their mother and the years after. "She was our guardian, friend and protector," Harry said, citing his mother's "unfaltering love." He added, "Behind the media glare, to us, two children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world."

With an age gap of a little over two years, Prince William and Prince Harry were raised very closely, with Princess Diana going out of her way to provide a normal life for them. However, just like regular, non-royal brothers all over the world, their closeness also lent itself to a healthy sibling rivalry. "They're very, very close ... they're also very competitive — and always have been," revealed royal biographer Andrew Morton in an issue of Royals Monthly, according to Us Weekly.

Growing up as the younger brother with William's role as heir to the throne reportedly took an emotional toll on Harry. "There's always been a part of Harry that felt like he was living in his brother's shadow," a royal insider speaking to Us Weekly said in 2019. It's possible that reported uneasiness and slight jealousy on Harry's part may have influenced the brothers' rift later on. "He doesn't envy the responsibility that comes with being the future king of England, but William's the 'golden boy' and Harry feels like he has a lot to live up to," the source shared.

According to The Sun, a royal source explained Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to move from Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage. "The initial plan was for Harry and Meghan to move out of their cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace and into one of the main apartments," said the source. "But there has been a bit of tension between the brothers."

Vanity Fair reported that royal biographer Katie Nicholl claimed that the falling out between Prince William and Prince Harry initially started when the younger brother felt slighted by his older sibling, feeling that he wasn't properly welcoming to Meghan in the early days of their relationship. "Harry felt William wasn't rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fall out which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort," Nicholl said.

Meanwhile, in Prince Harry's ITV documentary chronicling his ten-day royal visit to South Africa (via Town & Country) with Meghan in 2019, Harry and Meghan: An African Journey, the Duke confirmed the rift, saying, "We're certainly on different paths at the moment," according to People.