Hopes Princes William and Harry could build bridges when they met this week at their uncle’s funeral have been dashed as they did not chat, despite being near each other.
The Duke of Sussex secretly flew into the UK for the service of Lord Robert Fellowes on Wednesday, alongside his brother and heir to the throne. It was earlier reported the brothers were “discreet” with one another. But further reports from the service have now revealed they did not swap a single word – despite being stood close by. One mourner told the Sun: “They were only five yards from each other.”
It was the first time the pair attended the same event since their father King Charles’ Coronation last May. Reverend Dan Tansey, who led the service, told of what the brothers said to him after the service. He told The Sun : “It was only as I was greeting the congregation on the way out Prince William was shaking my hand, and then very quickly after Prince Harry did too.
“It was a surprise but a really really pleasant surprise that they had both come. On the way out, they both said thank you for the service and I thanked them for coming.” After the service, which was described as a memorial rather than a funeral, a reception was held, which the vicar said was very relaxed and cordial.
However, he added: “I don’t recollect them speaking to each other but there were a lot of family members and friends speaking to them.” The reverend also said it would have meant a lot to Lord Fellowes and his widow Jane, an older sister of Princess Diana, that both brothers made the service.
The last time William and Harry were seen pictured next to each other was during a walkabout in Windsor with their wives in the days after their late grandmother death in September 2022. Since then, Harry has railed against his royal relatives, especially William, in his bombshell Netflix series and in his explosive memoir, Spare, in which he accused William of pushing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan.
Lord Fellowes married Princess Diana’s older sister, Lady Jane, on April 20, 1978. They were married for more than 40 years and had three children – Laura, Alexander and Eleanor – who are all cousins of William and Harry. Laura is also godmother to William and Kate Middleton’s only daughter, Princess Charlotte.
