Since stepping away from royal duties in 2020, it’s no secret that Prince Harry has had strained relationships with his royal family members .
The most publicized fallout resulting from Harry’s decision to leave royal life and subsequently reveal private family moments on Netflix and in his memoir Spare is the rift between the Duke of Sussex, 40, and his older brother Prince William , 42.
It’s speculated that the brothers have not been on speaking terms since Harry published his explosive memoir Spare in January 2023. But while their relationship may have been turbulent before the memoir’s release, Prince William did show indications of wanting to mend ties with his younger brother. This was evident just days after the late Queen Elizabeth II’s passing when the Prince of Wales extended an olive branch to Harry.
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Before William and Princess Kate embarked on a walkabout in Windsor to view floral tributes left for the late Queen, William texted Harry, inviting him and his wife Meghan Markle, who were in the UK at the time, to join them.
A well-informed source told the Daily Mail then that the plan “happened very quickly”, with William reportedly wanting to unite with his brother out of respect for their late grandmother.
The walkabout was initially scheduled for 4.30 p.m. but was reportedly delayed by 45 minutes as the brothers made arrangements. The two couples subsequently made a public appearance together on The Long Walk in Windsor, where they viewed floral tributes and engaged with the public.
Despite the apparent success of the walkabout, there have been no further public outings involving just the two couples since then. It is currently speculated that William and Harry are not communicating and are estranged from each other. It’s believed that the brothers did not meet during Prince Harry’s recent visits to the UK this week or last September.
Prince Harry has been in the UK this week due to his ongoing court battle over security, but he did not get to see his father, King Charles, before the monarch left for Italy . A reunion between the two brothers is also unlikely amid the ongoing fallout after Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare was released.
Recalling a falling out between the siblings at Easter 2018 , Harry described how he and Meghan invited Kate and William over for tea at Nottingham Cottage to discuss why Kate and Meghan didn’t get along.
He wrote, “For 10 minutes we did the classic small talk. How are the kids? How was your honeymoon? Meg then acknowledged the tension among the four of us and ventured that it might go back to those early days when she’d first joined the family – a misunderstanding that had almost passed without notice. Kate thought Meg had wanted her fashion contacts. But Meg had her own.”
He elaborated that though they seemed to have “got off on the wrong foot,” tensions arose over a lack of Easter gifts. “But it turned out there were other things… about which we’d been unaware,” he continued. “Willy and Kate were apparently upset that we hadn’t given them Easter presents.
“Easter presents? Was that a thing? Willy and I had never exchanged Easter presents. Pa always made a big deal about Easter, sure, but that was Pa. Still, if Willy and Kate were upset, we apologized.”
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