Why A Throwback Clip From William's Wedding Day Has Fans Talking About His Rift With Harry
Lately, the Internet has been getting nostalgic about the royal family. My London recently reported on a vintage Instagram clip of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. Taken on the prince's birthday in 1990, the footage shows a young Princess Beatrice tapping Harry on the shoulder. In response, the 6-year-old prince turns and gives his cousin an elbow. Afterwards, Princess Diana steps in and pulls her son away, separating the two youngsters.
More youthful footage of Harry appeared online earlier this year. One Tiktok user who specializes in historic content featuring Princess Diana posted a charming video of Diana carrying a toddler Prince Harry and persuading a reluctant Prince William, Duke of Cambridge to join his brother in some fun.
At the beginning of August, Prince William and Catherine Middleton's partying past resurfaced when a TikTok user posted a 20-second montage of the royal couple prior to their engagement. The user's feed is a repository of royal flashbacks, including black and white footage of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip as a young couple, along with numerous videos featuring William and Kate.
A recent post featuring another blast from the royal past has viewers talking again.
A wedding video stirred up memories of Prince William and Prince Harry
Watched over one million times, danideeeee1's 11 second Tiktok clip starts with Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge walking down the aisle on her wedding day in 2011. Next, the video cuts to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watching the bride. He turns and says something to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge. After he's done speaking, the video ends with a huge grin from Harry. Captioned "cute moment," the video generated a lot of comments regarding the brothers' relationship. "We lost our Prince and a dynamic trio that were the cutest and best of friends. We all miss them and their silliness. The laughter they shared," one user wrote.
"Diana would never have approved of her sons being divided," another added, referencing the continuing feud between Harry and William. Paul Burrell, Princess Diana's former butler, agreed. "She'd be heartbroken," he told Ok! Magazine, per InStyle. "It wouldn't have got as bad as this if she was still here. She'd have banged their heads together."
Some commenters felt the Duke of Cambridge was responsible for the rift. "It makes me sad they aren't close any more. William should respect his brother's choices," one commenter wrote. Multiple users expressed an opinion that William did not "support" his brother. According to royal author Tom Bower, one possible area where Harry felt a lack of support was when he felt Meghan should be "just as appreciated as their mother." However, "William's reply was not sympathetic," noted Bower, per Mirror.
Princess Diana might have been instrumental in helping to heal William and Harry's rift
Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell noted that Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship has fallen a long way since childhood. "It's incomprehensible to think about the boys being so distanced," he told Ok! Magazine, per InStyle. "I saw those boys grow up and they were tighter than you can possibly believe. They referred to each other about everything. When Diana died, I thought they would be inseparable."
Royal author Tina Brown says the brothers started drifting apart when Harry retired from the military in 2015, per Newsweek. Afterwards, Harry had difficulty figuring out his role in life. "Diana insisted, much to her credit as a mother, that the two boys would be treated the same," Brown told The Telegraph. "But they were never going to be the same, that's the problem. Gradually, that became a major tension between them."
Ken Wharfe, the Princess of Wales' former bodyguard, thinks that had she lived, Diana would have played a key role in helping her sons reconcile. "When two siblings fight there's usually a close relative to give advice and Diana would have taken on that role," Wharfe wrote in Hello! Magazine. "She would have understood the problems that have been raised and helped her boys solve them, while giving Harry the advice he seems to lack right now."
Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship reportedly continues to be strained
Recent reports aren't optimistic about Prince Harry and Prince William mending their relationship. Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming U.K. visit does not currently include time with Prince William and Catherine Middleton, despite a close geographic distance. Presuming Harry and Meghan stay at Frogmore Cottage, they will be only 5 minutes away from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's new home, per the Daily Mail. Back in June, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not reconnect with the Cambridges during the Platinum Jubilee. According to The Times, except for sitting separately at the Service of Thanksgiving, the brothers did not visit with each other. "Things are still fraught — William is still wary of spending any time alone with Harry as you never quite know what may be reported back afterwards," a royal insider told Page Six in June.
In addition, William and Kate aren't planning to see the Sussexes during their upcoming trip to the U.S. However, in this case, there will be a vast distance between their visit to Boston and Harry and Meghan's home in California. Royal Commentator Kinsey Schofield told Express that the couple probably won't travel to Boston for the Earthshot Awards. "Quite frankly, I don't think that the Cambridges want them anywhere near it," Schofield said. "The Sussexes' presence would be a distraction from the work that the Cambridges are trying to accomplish."