Prince Harry’s ongoing feud with his brother, Prince William, is a far different animal than his rift with his father, King Charles.
“I think that Harry’s relationship with his brother is a different beast than his relationship with his father,” royal expert Kristen Meinzer exclusively tells Us Weekly. “But perhaps if Charles warms more to Harry, William will feel compelled to follow his lead.”
The Duke of Sussex’s fallout with his brother and father hit a fever pitch in 2020, when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped away from their duties as senior members of the royal family. After the pair relocated across the pond in Montecito, California, Prince Harry published a tell-all memoir, Spare, reportedly further angering members of his family.
After losing his U.K. security protection, Prince Harry has been vocal about his rift with his father, particularly after the King of England’s cancer diagnosis.
“There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family,” Harry told the BBC in a tell-all interview shortly after he lost a legal battle to regain his U.K. security, adding that “it would be nice to reconcile” but that his father “won’t speak to me.”
The Duke of Sussex later claimed that his father could reinstate his security protection if he chose to do so.
“There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands,” Harry alleged. “Ultimately, this whole thing could be resolved through him. Not necessarily by intervening, but by stepping aside, allowing the experts [to] do what is necessary.”
King Charles, however, has remained tight-lipped regarding his fractured relationship with his son.
King Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry Tim Rooke – Pool/Getty Images
“It really does look like Charles is taking the ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ axiom to a whole other level, doesn’t it?” Christopher Anderson, author of numerous books about the royal family, told Us in May. “The King is only hewing to a long-standing royal practice of not dignifying something by commenting on it. The Palace does not want to give oxygen to Harry’s remarks. King Charles has a lot on his plate as it is — there is no upside to his getting into a public quarrel with his son.”
As for his relationship with his brother, a source told Us that Prince William is “done” with his younger brother.
“William doesn’t talk about Harry anymore,” the insider exclusively revealed. “Everyone knows it’s a subject that they shouldn’t bring up, so he hasn’t brought up the interview and won’t.”
The source added, “William is done with Harry. When he becomes King, everybody thinks the divide will become even wider.”
Prince William and Prince Harry grew up side by side, playing on the manicured grounds of Kensington Palace as children and later attending the prestigious Eton College before they both went off to serve in the armed forces. In 2020, their paths famously and dramatically diverged when Harry left his royal post for the luxe […]
Dr. Gail Saltz, a mental health professional, told Us that same month that the rift within the royal family is “a tragedy,” especially because “public perception” has taken “precedence over the private relationship.”
“Harry and William are the only brothers they’ll ever have,” Saltz said. “Charles is the only father Harry will ever have. These are essential human relationships.”
She continued, “There are two different relationship lines here. There’s the public one because they are a working family, a royal family with a historical and tabloid place. And then there’s the private family relationship.”
In an apparent effort to mend his fractured relationships with members of the monarchy, Prince Harry recently shared his schedule with his father — an attempt to ensure none of his high-profile visits overshadow the royal family.
“I think any communication is good,” Meinzer exclusively tells Us. “It shows that things have not completely broken down between father and son, and that Harry, in particular, wants to mend fences.”
