With the Duke of Sussex once again clashing diaries with his estranged brother Prince William, a royal expert believes the onus is on Harry to work around the royal family’s busy schedules
Prince William and Prince Harry have been estranged for several years(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
With Prince Harry and Prince William remaining in a bitter stalemate, the warring brothers have once again clashed diaries. Eyebrows were raised within the Palace when the Duke of Sussex travelled to Canada for a string of Remembrance Sunday events, with his faux royal tour conflicting with the Prince of Wales’ trip to Brazil for the annual Earthshot Prize awards.
At the time, a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said that palace communications had been made aware of the upcoming tour. However, according to The Times , questions were asked within the Firm as to whether the memo had been sent, as nobody had received one.
READ MORE: Prince William honours promise to MND hero Rob Burrow with emotional engagementREAD MORE: Meghan Markle admits she invited herself to Paris Fashion Week to support designer
Prince Harry travelled to Toronto and claims he informed the Palace of his engagements(Image: AP)
William and Harry have had several diary clashes over the years they have remained estranged, but earlier this year, rumours emerged that Harry had offered to share his diary with the royal family to avoid stealing each other’s thunder at high-profile appearances.
With Harry starting to mend his relationship with his father King Charles, after the pair reunited for a private tea at Clarence House in September when Harry was in the UK for the WellChild Awards, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes Harry needs to communicate with his family if there is to be any hope of a reconciliation.
Jennie told the Mirror that while a reunion between William and Harry seems to be a distant possibility, the brothers need to be on the same page when it comes to royal events.
The royal expert said: “Well, they do need to get their ducks lined up if there is to be any possibility of a reconciliation. I still think the chances of the rift between William and Harry being mended any time soon are extremely remote.”
Jennie added that while Harry claims he informed the Palace of his trip to Canada to meet with war veterans, more care should have been taken, given William’s years-long dedication to the Earthshot project.
Harry’s trip coincided with William’s trip to Brazil for the Earthshot Prize awards(Image: Getty Images)
She said: “It seems clear that the King is willing to have some sort of relationship with Harry. I suppose there will inevitably be some diary clashes, but it did seem ridiculous that Harry’s trip to Canada should coincide with one of the most important and major events of William’s whole year.”
Sources close to Harry said the timing of the announcement, at the exact moment Prince William arrived in Rio, was unavoidable due to Harry being stripped of his security when he left his role as a working member of the royal family.
The source claimed the period of time in which Harry and Meghan can release details of their events is much more truncated than it is for the King or William, as they added that the Sussexes’ team was purely guided on advice given to them by their private security advisors.
Before Harry kicked off the trip, he also spoke of his love of “things that make us British” – despite not even living in the country. The Duke of Sussex penned a passionate essay ahead of Remembrance Day, where he expressed his pride at fighting for his country and warned how easy it is for veterans to be forgotten “once the uniform comes off”.
And as Jennie Bond said: “It seems that Harry did try to be sensitive, issuing his essay the day before the Earthshot Awards, but it was still an unhelpful distraction.”
Get the inside scoop on the monarchy with Mirror Royal
WHATSAPP GROUP: Be first to get the biggest royal bombshells and exclusives to your phone by joining our Royal WhatsApp here.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
NEWSLETTER: Or sign up to the Mirror’s Royal newsletter here to get all the biggest royal news and exclusive pictures, straight to your inbox.