lthough things have been rocky between Prince William and Prince Harry for the past few years, they weren’t always that way. While it’s hard to know just how close the brothers ever were, they at least used to spend quite a lot of time together, even when William first got married to Princess Catherine.
In fact, in a new biography, titled William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story, royal expert Russell Myers asserts that Kate was often the one trying to strengthen the brothers’ relationship, and prevent any sort of fracture.
“Her upbringing in a close-knit, loving family environment, where supporting each other was almost an unofficial family motto, spurred her actions,” Myers claims. “The true disintegration of William and Harry’s bond would not occur until many years later, but Catherine witnessed their competitive nature and often acted as a peacemaker.”
The last time the brothers and their significant others were all together was in 2022 for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Myers reports that Kate often acted as a liaison between the brothers: “Whether counseling William or having a quiet word in Harry’s ear, she saw it as her duty to keep the two brothers on the same team, as did their senior aides.”
Unfortunately, following Harry and Duchess Meghan’s decision to step down from their senior positions as royals in 2020, as well as Harry’s move to release his tell-all memoir, Spare, in 2023, a rift began to grow between the brothers—one which has not been repaired.
The last time Harry and William were seen publicly together was in July 2024, at the funeral of their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes. However, while both were in attendance, insider reports claimed that the brothers did not speak to each other, and they kept their distance throughout the service.
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Prince William and Prince Harry united for the unveiling of a statue dedicated to their mother, Princess Diana, in 2021.
Part of the reason the brothers’ relationship was fragile to begin with, Myers claims, is because William and Harry were raised with a lingering “heir and spare” mentality. “The issue of treating the ‘heir and spare’ as completely separate entities is something William has always wanted to change,” Myers argues. “It’s not how he and Catherine have brought up their own children and William saw fundamental problems with the different treatment he was given as a child to his brother. In his view, it wasn’t healthy.”
In the past year, the Duke of Sussex has made more efforts to repair the conflicts between him and his father, King Charles III. Just last summer, his rep met with the king’s communications secretary for the first time, to see how the two could begin to move forward.
Harry has also repeatedly voiced his desire to mend ties with William, but time will tell how that relationship changes.
