Prince Harry and Prince William‘s brotherly relationship has shattered over the past few years, thanks to what is probably the most famous sibling rivalry in the world. The duo aren’t even on speaking terms at this point, as King Charles’ sons have had zero contact recently despite Harry’s various trips to the U.K. this year.
Unfortunately, the writing was on the wall for Harry and William’s bond going all the way back to the night before the now Duke of Sussex married Meghan Markle. In his memoir Spare (via The Mirror), Harry recalls how he was staying at London’s Coworth Park Hotel with his friends, with William supposed to join them. However, Harry’s brother cancelled at the last minute, crushing him.
In his book, Harry writes that he reminded William that this was their tradition — just like the night before William’s own wedding to Kate Middleton, Harry wanted them to go out for dinner and then greet the crowds. “Why are you even saying hello to the crowds, Harold?” was William’s response, which left Harry appalled. “I felt sick about it,” he admits.
In the end, at least, William did agree to join Harry for dinner and greet the crowds, something the duke suspects his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, had a hand in (“Maybe Granny intervened,” he ponders). The elder prince still refused to spend the night with Harry and friends at the hotel, however. “Sorry, Harold. Can’t. Kids,” he told him.
At least William cared enough to give Harry an excuse back then. These days, the truth is sadly very different.
Prince William’s true attitude to Harry and Meghan unveiled as they are reduced to “background noise”
As Harry’s Spare anecdote makes clear, since 2018 William’s gone from thinking of his little brother as a close family member to a threat to the stability of the Royal family to something arguably even worse: a minor nuisance that he can’t be bothered to acknowledge.
At least, this is according to self-styled Royal family insider Paul Burrell. According to Burrell — who once served as butler to Harry and William’s late mother, Princess Diana — the next in line to the throne is well and truly over furthering any kind of fight with the Sussexes as it seems he sees the effort as not worth his time.
“William knows that Harry can’t be trusted and doesn’t want any more upset in his family,” Burrell told Closer Magazine (via Express), on why the prince has decided to exclude his brother to the extent that he has. “William won’t take any more cheap shots from across the Atlantic. He doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t listen to the noise in the background — and that’s what Harry and Meghan have become.”
It sounds like Harry still has the power to irritate William as only a brother can, though, with Burrell claiming that the Prince of Wales would “explode” if Harry and Meghan were found to have targeted Princess Catherine in one of their “strategies,” as William is said to be very “protective” of his wife during her cancer treatment.
As per Burrell, despite that snub the night before his wedding, it’s not just Harry who feels betrayed by his brother’s behavior:
“She and William now have a huge burden going forward as the future of the monarchy and they needed Harry and Meghan to support them,” he claims. “So the sense of betrayal will run deep,”