A rift between the brothers has been growing for years
Prince William and Prince Harry arrive for the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, on what would have been her 60th birthday on July 1, 2021 in London, England(Image: Getty Images)
The late Princess Diana would have acted as ‘peacemaker’ during the ongoing feud between Prince William and Prince Harry, a royal expert has said.
The princes were united in grief when their mother tragically died on August 13, 1997.
But decades on, the brothers remain estranged.
William and Harry have not been on speaking terms for many years and were even said to have not acknowledged each other at the funeral of their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes last year.
According to Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton, the late Princess of Wales would have put an end to the ongoing rift between her sons.
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He told People: “We all remember the days when Harry and William were joshing with one another, and it all seemed set for their relationship and the future — that Harry, as Diana always used to say, would be William’s wingman.
“It’s a great loss for the monarchy.”
Mr Morton said: “Things were said that sparked the initial rift and it’s never healed.”
Tensions between the brothers deepened in 2020 when Harry and his wife Meghan Meghan quit royal life and relocated to Montecito, USA.
Harry and Meghan have made very few trips back to the UK since then.
The rift was worsened when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey aired in 2021.
This was followed by Harry’s memoir Spare in 2023.
Mr Morton, whose latest book Winston and the Windsors, is out in October, said: “Diana always used to say she had two boys for a reason — the younger would be there to support the older in the lonely task as future King.
“There is no doubt Diana would have tried to act as a peacemaker between them.
“If she had been around, they would have worked things out in a different way.”
Harry has spoken openly about his hope for reconciliation with the Royal Family but insiders say his calls and messages to William have gone unanswered.
A source close to the royal household said: “This is the sadness of it — they aren’t supporting each other like they should be.
“That’s what any mother would want — that they are there for each other.”
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