The British Royal Family has made headlines for a plethora of reasons over the last several years, but among the biggest reasons they’ve drawn attention is due to the reported division amongst them. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have mostly been estranged from their relatives since they stepped back from their duties as senior members of the clan. As a result, Prince William has kept his distance from his younger brother, and an insider claims William has one regret amid the alleged tension.
While Prince Harry (40) and Meghan (43) – the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – stepped back from their duties in 2020, they apparently hadn’t cut ties with the rest of their family completely. That detail is now said to be something of a sticking point for 42-year-old Prince William. A source for InTouch claims that the heir apparent to the British throne now wishes he would’ve completely broken with his brother and sister-in-law sooner:
They don’t talk right now. William has moved on and the matter of their royal titles should have been properly addressed when they initially left. William would have cut Harry and Meghan off from the royal institution back then and he regrets that it didn’t happen.
Friction amongst the royals was revealed during the Sussexes’ bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. The couple alleged that the family made racially insensitive comments in regard to their yet-to-be-born son, Archie (and the family later said the claims would be “taken very seriously.”) Other accusations were made by Prince Harry in his 2023 memoir, Spare, including the claim that Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton, helped him decide on that infamous Nazi costume he wore to a party. Sources alleged that William had strong feelings about the book and said that the text would prolong the estrangement.
In addition to those developments, the docuseries Harry & Meghan (which is streamable with a Netflix subscription) also sees the titular couple discussing their relatives. Following all of that, Prince William himself has not openly addressed the state of his relationship with his brother. However, if the aforementioned insider is to be believed, time has not healed all wounds:
William has lost all his patience when it comes to Harry and Meghan. He refuses to get into a public back and forth with his brother about any of this. It’s getting old at this point. He feels that Harry made his decision to walk away, and he should abide by the consequences that come with that.
Aside from the Prince of Wales, Prince Harry has also allegedly gotten on the bad side of his father, King Charles III. It was reported in August 2024 that Harry and his father’s relationship had hit a “new low level” and that they were no longer communicating. That came on the heels of the Duke paying a visit to his dad, who was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer.
The continued feud taking place within the British Royal Family has garnered responses from various individuals, and that’s not just counting royal experts. For instance, Jason Knauf, an ex-aide to Princes William and Harry, expressed sadness over the rift in the brothers’ relationship. As for a potential reconciliation, the latest claims from William give the impression that he’s not looking to patch things up with his brother anytime soon.
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