There may be no coming back for warring brothers Prince William and Prince Harry and one particular issue is to blame, according to one expert.
The princes appear to have severed ties after Harry quit royal duties to embark on a new life in California with his wife Meghan Markle. The publication of the duke’s controversial memoir Spare in January 2023 soured relations after the younger brother railed against his family.
Harry used the bombshell book to allege that Prince William called his wife ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’ and that he had been pushed by him into a dog bowl. It was also claimed that King Charles was jealous of the Prince and Princess of Wales and that Charles refused to allow Meghan to join her husband in Scotland as the late Queen was dying.
The brothers reportedly last spoke at their grandmother’s funeral
As speculation continues to swirl over whether the princes could ultimately bury their rift, former BBC Royal correspondent Michael Cole thinks otherwise, arguing that the future King is “adamant” in his stance.
The expert has said there will be “no softening” of William’s approach to Harry, who has done “the unthinkable”. “What [men] cannot put up with are two things which they cannot abide with,” Mr Cole told GB News America. “Their driving ability, and they certainly cannot allow their wife to be criticised.”
This comes as Prince Harry’s next major trip has been announced. Following a tour in Colombia with Meghan, Harry is set for a solo event, this time to visit New York. While Harry will be in the Big Apple to “advance a number of his patronages and philanthropic initiatives”, according to a spokesperson, it was feared there could have been an awkward run-in with William. Harry’s trip overlaps with the 2024 Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit, scheduled for September 24, and while it is one of William’s key areas of work, he is not believed to be in attendance this year.
According to The Sunday Times, it is understood the brothers last spoke at the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022 – and even then, according to Harry’s memoir, they “barely exchanged a word”. The publication reports that William is unlikely to forgive his younger brother any time soon for his digs against wife Kate in Spare with friends telling the newspaper as things stand, the Prince of Wales would not want Harry at his Coronation, whenever that time comes.
One friend told the Sunday Times: “They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad”, while another added that Harry rarely comes up in conversation with William and explained: “This year his focus has very much been on his wife, his children and his father.”
