Prince William and Kate Middleton are reportedly “relieved” with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s holiday plans.
In late August, the Duke, 42, and Duchess of Sussex, 45, relocated back to the U.K. with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. On September 7, as they settled in the Cotswolds, King Charles issued a letter confirming the couple would remain non-working royals. Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 44, have remained silent.
The estranged brothers have reportedly had no contact despite now living in the same country again, and Harry’s hopes of reconciling with his father and William are reportedly becoming bleaker by the day. Now, the chances of them putting their differences aside for the holidays have been squashed, something that has made William and Kate “breathe a sigh of relief.”
Grant Harrold, who worked for the 77-year-old monarch at Highgrove between 2004 and 2011, believes William and Harry’s strained relationship will not be resolved any time soon.
So, it’s good that Harry and Meghan are spending Christmas with the Duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, in the U.S.
Prince William and Prince Harry have been estranged since about 2020 (Image: In Pictures via Getty Images)
Harrold, speaking on behalf of OLBG (per The Independent), explained how Harry and Meghan spending Christmas in the U.S. will also be a “get out of jail card” for King Charles. “It’s very different to being poker face in public; it is awkward with family,” Harrold said. “It would have been such a difficult time.”
William and Harry have been estranged since Harry and Meghan moved to the U.S. after stepping back as senior working members of the Royal Family in 2020. Things haven’t improved as Harry and Meghan have continued to voice their grievances about the Royal Family in several interviews and documentaries.
In his 2023 memoir Spare, Harry detailed a 2019 physical altercation at Nottingham Cottage where William allegedly pushed him to the floor during a heated argument.
Despite Harry expressing his wish to reconnect with the Royal Family in a May 2025 BBC interview, five years after he and Meghan moved to the U.S., he’s reportedly getting nowhere, even though he’s returned to the U.K.
In a May 2025 BBC interview, he said, “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious,” adding that he did “not know how much longer [his] father” would be around.
Harry has since reunited with Charles, who went public with his cancer diagnosis in early 2024, on multiple occasions, including during an August family meeting. However, they are now no longer in contact, as the monarch is allegedly giving Harry the silent treatment.
King Charles is reportedly giving Prince Harry the cold shoulder (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Sources told NewsNation that Harry is “frustrated and angry” because his attempts to repair his relationships with Charles and Prince William are failing. While Charles gives him the cold shoulder, William has kept completely quiet about his brother’s return.
However, it’s unclear why Charles is shutting out his youngest son. The source added, “Harry’s calls aren’t being put through. The King and William are treating this situation like they did when Harry threw international tantrums while living in Montecito.”
The source continued, “He doesn’t call to catch up or try to meet up. He calls to complain and try to bully his father into getting his taxpayer-funded security back. It’s exhausting. And ill-advised.”
Despite reports of his silent treatment of Harry, Charles allegedly has a shocking plan to “heal the rift” between his estranged sons. He thinks he’ll be able to help the brothers reconnect through a service honoring their late mother, Princess Diana, on the 30th anniversary of her death next year, per the Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, sources have told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice that William and his wife, Kate Middleton, have “stopped caring” about the drama surrounding Harry and Meghan.
“The anger has gone,” one source told Naughty But Nice. “William spent years being furious. Catherine was deeply hurt. But you cannot stay angry forever. Eventually, you stop fighting and simply stop caring.”
William and Kate no longer care what Harry and Meghan does (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“Harry and Meghan can live ten miles away or 5,000 miles away – it makes very little difference to William now,” an insider claimed. “He has Catherine, his children, his work and his future. Harry is no longer occupying the enormous amount of emotional space he once did.”
William and Kate’s silence speaks volumes as another insider noted that the “opposite of love isn’t hate – it’s indifference.” That’s reportedly where William and Kate are now, the source concluded. They’re not looking for “revenge” and don’t want “another war.” They just want to “get on with their lives.”
Still, other sources have now told Naughty But Nice that the pair are reportedly preparing for private talks, but that William has a non-negotiable condition: Meghan has to stop talking about his wife and their children.
Sources have told Naughty But Nice that the brothers have realized that their continued estrangement has now become embarrassing. “This cannot continue,” a royal insider told the outlet. “Two grown men avoiding each other is making them both look petty and foolish. Their feud has become a national joke.”
The brothers were last seen together at the funeral of their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, in Norfolk, on August 28, 2024. However, they sat on opposite sides of the aisle and reportedly did not speak to each other.
Their last major public televised appearance together was earlier at Charles’ coronation in May 2023, where they also sat separately and did not interact despite taking part in the same procession.
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