Why A Royal Insider Says William And Harry's Relationship Is Beyond Repair
The relationship between Princes William and Harry, who were previously close, especially following the death of their mother Princess Diana, has been increasingly strained in recent years. As a source informed Us Weekly, William and Kate Middleton were "blindsided" by Harry's decision to leave the royal family alongside Meghan Markle. Likewise, the Sussexes' official statement on the matter left them flummoxed. As the source explained, "It's sad because when they were younger, William would be the first person Harry would go to with big news like this."
Things have allegedly only gotten worse since Meghan and Harry gradually made more of a life for themselves in California. During an interview on Today, via the Independent, Harry deflected a question about whether he missed his father and brother. "For me, at the moment, I'm here to focus on these guys and these families, and giving everything I can," Harry responded, referring to the Invictus Games. He added, "That's my focus here, and then I leave here, I get back, and my focus is my family, who I miss massively." The prince has returned to the U.K. just a handful of times since leaving.
William was reportedly scared of conversing with Meghan and Harry in case whatever they discussed ended up in an interview, which slowed any progress they'd made further. Now it seems the situation is beyond fixing.
Prince William allegedly doesn't even recognize his brother anymore
Prince William and Prince Harry might be even further away from sorting out their troubled relationship than we realized. A source told Us Weekly the estranged siblings have actually been on the outs for a long time. Things allegedly got significantly worse following Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which the royal defector revealed just how tough he'd found his final years with the monarchy. Now, according to the insider, their relationship is "irreparable" and any chance of reconciliation is "doomed."
William reportedly "doesn't know who [Harry] is anymore and the trust between them is strained," especially considering the Duke of Sussex has continued speaking out about the royal family even after moving stateside. As a result, "They'll never recover from the damage that has been done." Saddest of all, William still cares about his brother and will always love him no matter what. And yet, "William's not one to bear grudges but what's right is right. He'll be civil to a point, but he's not going to play happy families with them again or pretend that everything's A-OK when it's anything but."
Per Elle, at the queen's recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Harry and Meghan Markle notably didn't spend any time with William and Kate Middleton. They sat apart from each other at the thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral and arrived and departed at different times, seemingly to avoid risking any interaction between them.
The warring princes previously sparked hopes of a reconciliation
It's disappointing to learn the brothers allegedly aren't any closer to mending their relationship, since William and Harry reportedly had a quiet reconciliation not too long ago. As the Mirror reported at the time, the battling royals made a point of having regular FaceTime chats in the run up to the Jubilee to ensure it wasn't uncomfortable when everybody was reunited. Likewise, William and Harry were messaging each other while their wives stayed completely out of it to give them the space to sort out their issues privately.
An insider claimed, "The brothers needed time for everything to settle down. The family, including William, had been disappointed in the way Harry and Meghan chose to leave the royal family." Thankfully, time seemed to have healed most, if not all, their wounds, and bonding over their children further helped the formerly close siblings work things out. In fact, the source opined, "It seems that the two of them have healed the rift and are very much back on their old buddy terms."
Moreover, a separate source told the Mirror that the feud was a "constant strain" on William, while both he and Harry regretted their bad behavior and were eager to make up for it. Considering how often the situation seems to change, it remains to be seen whether things are really hopeless between the princes or if they can sort it out.
Could Kate Middleton be the key to sorting things out between them?
Although their wives previously stayed firmly out of it, new reports suggest Kate Middleton is doing her best to fix the fractured relationship between Princes William and Harry before it's too late. As an insider told Us Weekly, Kate is the tiny glimmer of hope for saving them since, "She can sense that despite everything that has happened, William still feels the loss of Harry." According to the source, the duchess is "frantically trying to play peacemaker," even speaking to both William and Harry separately in an effort to get them to finally see eye to eye again. Unfortunately, "The issue is William and Harry are both overly stubborn, so there's not much hope."
In fact, according to the insider, the seating arrangement at the recent thanksgiving service was engineered to keep the brothers from attracting too much scrutiny on themselves. Clearly, the boys need someone to intervene, with Harry reportedly proposing a mediator at one stage, as royal expert Katie Nicholl informed Entertainment Tonight. She revealed, "It was something that he had suggested to his father. He's made it very clear that he wants to sort things out. He wants things to be improved." At the time, the royal hoped to be on better terms with both his brother and Prince Charles by the time the Jubilee rolled around, but sadly that doesn't appear to have happened.
Hopefully Kate can make a dent where others have failed.