A new book claims Kate Middleton didn’t push for Prince Harry to stay in his royal role alongside his brother, Prince William, and other senior family members.
The Mirror’s royal editor, Russell Myers, made the claims in his new book William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story. The book takes an inside look at the couple’s relationship, and the moment Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, decided to step back from their royal roles in 2020.
Myers claimed that Kate reportedly didn’t advocate for Harry to remain a senior royal. The author alleges the Princess of Wales felt that her brother-in-law’s exit was inevitable.
The author wrote, “William and Catherine had added reason to be nervous about the Sussexes’ departure. William was intensely saddened at his brother’s decision to quit. He and Harry had been drifting apart for years, but now he knew deep down that there would be no turning back.”
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He continued, “Fond memories of their childhood, from helping each other through the tragedy of their mother’s death, to growing up in the public eye, were now tarnished by the division at the heart of the family. As an ‘outsider’, Catherine had witnessed the deterioration of William and Harry’s relationship. She had seen Harry and Meghan become ever more bitter at having to follow the rules of a hierarchical and hereditary monarchy, until they felt as if they could follow them no longer.”
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Myers concluded, “(However,) Catherine had less interest than her husband in trying to persuade Harry to stay in his current role. She believed William and Harry’s fundamental differences as the ‘heir and the spare’ had created the inevitability of Harry wanting more from his role than being a bit-part player.”
Shortly after leaving his role as a senior royal behind, Harry gave several insightful interviews about his strained relationship with his sibling. He famously claimed in his autobiography Spare that an altercation between him and his brother once came to physical blows.
The Guardian excerpted a passage from Spare. “He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”
Subsequently, the Duke of Sussex told BBC in May 2025, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
Neither Prince William nor Kate Middleton has publicly spoken out about the current state of their relationship with Prince Harry or Meghan Markle. William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story will be released on March 10, 2026.
This story was originally published by Parade on Feb 16, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.