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A Comprehensive Timeline of Prince William and Prince Harry’s “Royal Feud”

Photo credit: Samir Hussein - Getty Images
Photo credit: Samir Hussein - Getty Images


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In case you hadn’t noticed, Prince William and Prince Harry are in a 🗣️ ROYAL FEUD. Or as some are calling it, a 🗣️ ROYAL RIFT. This drama has been going on forever, and chances are, you’re vaguely confused. We all are! Because truly, what are they even fighting about and why can’t everyone just get along? Things are not the best rn because of Harry and Meghan Markle’s tell-all interview with Oprah, but in the interest of living for trying to understand the drama, we’ve put together a timeline of this brotherly spat. So let’s go back, back to the beginning—aka winter 2018.

November 2018

At this point, likely fictitious rumors of drama between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton had already been floating around the internet for a bit. Remember how Meghan allegedly made Kate cry? It was a whole ridiculous thing. But then veteran royal reporter Katie Nicholl dropped the bombshell that it was actually Harry and William who hadn’t been getting along. According to Katie’s sources, the brothers had a falling-out around Christmas 2018, when Harry told Will he wasn’t doing enough to include Meghan in the royal family.

Per Nicholl’s source,Harry felt William wasn’t rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort. That’s when the Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend Christmas with them.”

You’d think that’d be the end of things, but HA HA HA, please. We’ve only just begun.

Photo credit: Giphy
Photo credit: Giphy

December 2018

The Sussexes and Cambridges spent Christmas together in Sandringham with the Queen, but unfortunately, royal watchers discovered a video of William seemingly ignoring Meghan during the family’s walk. Basically, she tried to talk to him and he spent a ton of time adjusting his scarf instead of responding.

February 2019

Truly a woof month for the royal fam. Mostly because TLC started promoting its not-at-all-dramatic documentary, Kate v. Meghan: Princesses at War? I’ll give you a moment to side-eye the universe. During the doc, Nicholl explained that "William was quite concerned that the relationship had moved so quickly. And being close to Harry, probably the only person close enough to say to Harry, 'This seems to be moving quickly, are you sure?'"

She continued, “I think what was meant as well-intended brotherly advice just riled Harry. Harry is hugely protective of Meghan. He saw that as criticism. He interpreted that as his brother not really being behind this marriage, this union, and I don’t think things have been quite right ever since.”

But wait, it gets more dramatic: The doc also featured a quote from The Sun’s royal correspondent Emily Andrews, who revealed that Harry “went ballistic and said, ‘You’re trying to wreck this relationship before it’s even started.’” This was probably the point at which the “royal feud” became the ROYAL FEUD.

Photo credit: Giphy
Photo credit: Giphy

March 2019

In March, royal filmmaker Nick Bullen confirmed to Fox News that Meghan and Kate were never feuding....It was always Prince William and Prince Harry. “It’s actually that William and Harry have had a rift,” he said. “All brothers fall out. All families fall out. Their fall-out at the moment is becoming public.”

Bullen also claimed Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II were “working incredibly hard to try and make sure everybody reunites,” which apparently was unsuccessful!

April 2019

In an effort to find out what the literal hell was going on, Cosmopolitan spoke to Nicholl, who told us, “I don’t know that things will ever be the way they were between William and Harry.”

Womp. On top of that, the brothers attend an Easter service together and legit didn’t speak. As People noted, “Harry was seen talking to [his cousin] Zara and exchanging pleasantries with Kate but did not say anything to his elder brother.” Yup, there’s a video:

May 2019

Things kinda seemed to be improving in May. By which I mean The Mirror dropped news that Kate and William visited Meghan and Harry’s new house, Frogmore Cottage. Apparently, their hang sesh was an “olive branch” between the brothers, and Kate urged Harry to extend the invitation because she was “acutely aware of the importance of William and Harry getting along, not just because of perception but their collective responsibility to the monarchy as a whole.”

Plus, we got a video of Kate being super stoked about Meghan and Harry’s baby:

June 2019

So, this is when Meghan and Harry officially split from the joint charity they shared with Kate and William. It was honestly just a logistical decision and had nothing to do with drama, but that didn’t stop everyone from reading into it.

Here’s what they say in a statement:

“The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex has today announced the conclusions of a review into its structure, and how it will best support Their Royal Highnesses with future charitable activity.

Later this year, The Royal Foundation will become the principal charitable and philanthropic vehicle for The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will establish their own new charitable foundation with transitional operating support from The Royal Foundation. In addition, both couples will continue to work together on projects in the future, including on The Foundation’s mental health program, Heads Together.”

Awkwardly, June also happened to be the month we found out that William and Harry fully weren’t speaking before Archie’s birth thanks to Nicholl telling ET, “I was told by a very senior royal source that actually they weren’t talking to each other at one point. I certainly think now that Archie is here, it has probably really helped to improve the relationship. William is over the moon that his brother is a dad.”

July 2019

Positive update! William and Kate joined Meghan and Harry for Archie’s christening and they took a group photo. Negative update! William made a weird face and everyone thought he was unhappy to be there:

Body-language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that William’s pose is hard to “fathom,” explaining:

“William’s pose behind [Kate] looks harder to fathom out as it seems to show the prince in nightclub bouncer mode. The fig-leaf hand gesture, head tilt, and rather evaluating facial expression and knowing smile all bear the hallmarks of a man who won’t let you into the venue until you produce some ID. Harry’s chosen shot of his brother at his wedding did seem to make William look oddly furtive behind him so perhaps there’s a theme emerging here. The contrast with the proudly beaming Charles and Doria is acute, but again, it could reflect a moment of quiet, contemplative sibling pleasure for William, although it might be interesting to see if he was grinning happily in any of the shots Harry rejected.”

Oh, and an Us Weekly source revealed that William and Kate “weren’t happy about” Meghan and Harry’s decision to keep the christening private and that “William thinks his brother is going overboard keeping Archie out of the spotlight” and "blames Meghan."

August 2019

Sources claimed that William and Harry planned to put their differences aside to remember their mother Princess Diana on August 31, the anniversary of her death. “They talk about the little things about Diana that made them laugh: the ski trips and outings to Thorpe Park [a British amusement park]; the effort she went to on their birthdays...all of it,” a source told Us Weekly, adding that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle planned to “join them later.”

October 2019

Good ol’ October. Otherwise known as the month Prince Harry broke the internet and admitted there is, in fact, a royal rift. “Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens,” he said when asked about the rumored feud during ITV’s documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey. “But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”

He continued, “We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but you know, I love him dearly. The majority of this stuff [in the press] is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.”

At this point, a source told Us Weekly that Kate hated seeing Meghan and Harry “so miserable” and hoped “William and Harry will eventually heal the rift and let bygones be bygones. The way she sees it, life’s too short to make enemies—especially with loved ones. She’s very levelheaded like that. Kate’s a family girl.”

Meanwhile, royal expert and author Phil Dampier backed this news up to The Express:

“Behind the scenes, I’m told Kate is doing her best to bring everyone together and help Meghan. None of them want to let the Queen down so Kate is trying to patch things up in private. I’m told she has reached out to Meghan and spoken to her on the phone. Kate feels sorry for her and knows that Meghan is struggling.”

November 2019

The month kicked off with a source telling Us Weekly that things are still “not great” for Harry and William and that “they both need to put in the effort to rebuild their relationship.”

Awkward, since the palace revealed that Meghan and Harry would be spending Christmas with Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, instead of at Sandringham with the royal fam. They tried to downplay the drama, saying, “This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the Royal Family and has the support of Her Majesty the Queen,” but sources said there’s more to the story.

“The rift between William and Harry is one of the main reasons behind their decision. As it’s Archie’s first Christmas, they want it to be super special. It’ll be just Doria and the three of them,” a source told Us Weekly following Buckingham Palace’s formal mid-month announcement. “The drama surrounding the couple has caused a huge amount of stress. They’re making their family their number one priority right now.”

But did you honestly think that was all? LOL, sure. As the holidays swiftly approached, People gave more context about why the Sussexes and Cambridges have been drifting apart as of late.

“Everyone was doing their duties, doing what they needed to do on behalf of the family—and that was that,” the source said. “But there is a divide between the four of them. It’s hard for people to digest, because everyone wants them to be such a unit.”

It also doesn’t help that William and Kate are prepping to be the future king and queen of England, obviously—the source admitted that this is driving an even bigger wedge. “William is the future king. There is going to be some competitiveness between him and Harry,” the source said. “That already puts a rock in the relationship.”

But despite all the ~drama~ behind the scenes, the royals have no choice but to keep up appearances. “They’re going to have to try to figure out how to be civil, but they are on different paths now,” the source added. “It’s just the reality of the situation.”

January 2020

WOW WOW WOW. Only a few weeks into 2020 and an absurd amount of royal news has already gone down. Harry’s friend and journalist Tom Bradby spoke to Good Morning Britain and made some comments about the royal rift between Harry and William, and boy, did he give us juicy details. According to Bradby, “things” were definitely said, but the good news here is that Harry and William are trying to become closer in the wake of the drama.

Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry announced that they’ll be stepping back from their senior royal duties, adding even more fuel to the feud fire. A source told Us Weekly that “William was blindsided by Harry and Meghan’s decision and statement” and that “there’s still a rift between the two brothers. It’s sad because when they were younger, William would be the first person Harry would go to with big news like this.”

It didn’t help that Harry’s announcement came RIGHT before Kate’s birthday, which admittedly is a bit of a scene stealer. But the brothers tried to keep things calm, issuing this joint statement (which alluded to reports of William “bullying” Harry out of the fam):

“Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge. For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”

The good news? The Sun’s Dan Wootton reported that the brothers managed to patch things up during negotiations about Harry and Meghan stepping down, with a source saying, “William and Harry have spent time together privately away from the official Sandringham Summit working on their relationship and discussing their future. It has been groundbreaking in terms of saving their bond as brothers and has been totally driven by them. But Kate and Meghan, who was in Canada, did join in with some of the talks on more than one occasion—which is another sign of a real thaw in their relationship. Things are better.”

February 2020

Now that the dust has started to settle, insiders are coming forward with more intel about the aftermath of Harry and Meghan’s departure. People sources said Harry and William’s relationship is “better than expected,” although “they didn’t leave on good terms by any means” and “they are both relieved that it’s over.”

March 2020

I’m just gonna go ahead and call March the “it gets worse before it gets better” month, alright? Here’s why: Harry pays Queen Elizabeth a visit, but it only seems to worsen his relationship with William. A source tells Us Weekly that Harry and William are “both filled with anger and resentment” after going to England, which, yikes.

On top of that, William still can’t get behind Harry’s decision to move to Canada. “Harry knows William’s mad at him for uprooting and leaving him to pick up the pieces,” the source adds. “But the way Harry sees it, Meghan’s happiness is way more important....Harry’s fed up with being judged or expected to act a certain way.”

All this tension was on full display during Meghan and Harry’s final appearance with William and Kate at the Commonwealth Day Service. Body-language expert Blanca Cobb analyzed their collective interactions and thought they were “lackluster among the four of them, particularly Kate’s lack of acknowledgment.”

Toward the end of the month, though, Harry and William’s relationship seemingly begins to improve as the Sussexes prepare to officially step back from the royal fam—they’re communicating again! Sure, it took a whole-ass pandemic to make it happen, but who cares about the logistics? According to a report from Daily Mail, Harry and William are on speaking terms again and both agreed to do their part with helping out their homeland in this crazy time.

Leading up to Meghan and Harry’s March 31 cutoff date, “Meghan told her inner circle of friends that Harry has been communicating with Prince William and the Queen on a pretty consistent basis. She said this world crisis has actually brought them all closer together, especially Harry and his brother,” a source tells the outlet. “Harry has made it very clear to them that he will do whatever he can to help from Canada. Meghan said they are grateful, especially Harry, that they could spend time with his family before all this insanity began.”

Sounds promising, right? Well, it gets even better because Meghan, who admittedly felt kinda bad for being a factor in Harry and William’s disintegrated relationship, thinks the guys can “patch things up eventually.”

April 2020

Meghan and Harry are completely done with their royal duties as of April 1, 2020. This is just the beginning of the Sussexes’ new life, so we wait and see how William takes to royal life without Harry nearby.

June 2020

Harry and Will are leaning on each other, which sounds pretty healthy/good/not feud-ish! As Harry adjusts to life away from the UK, he’s leaning more and more on his big brother, according to a new Us Weekly report.

“Moving to a completely different country is never easy for anyone, including Harry. And he wasn’t expecting to be faced with so many obstacles,” Us’s source says. “William’s advised Harry to return to London or move elsewhere, somewhere safer. He’s concerned about his brother’s well-being and safety.”

Ah, but just when we think that things are starting to turn around, Us drops another report—this time claiming that William is still hella annoyed with Harry’s decision to up and leave England (here we go again).

“William is so tired and done with the drama of it all,” the source said. “Seeing Harry cut ties with virtually every aspect of his English life and identity is so hard to fathom.” And while the move “breaks William’s heart,” the distance is good for him and Harry because they “need space and time to breathe, then hopefully they’ll work it out.”

July 2020

Thought the royal feud was dying down? Welp, think again, because Finding Freedom—a new biography about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carol Durand—pretty much reignited the whole thing.

Apparently, William told Harry that he needed to “take as much time as you need to get to know this girl,” which Harry didn’t take very kindly to. And on top of that, a source close to William says he didn’t want his brother to be “blindsided by lust.”

The excerpt also says, “In those last two words, ‘this girl,’ Harry heard the tone of snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world” and that “to remove Meghan from the equation, Harry was tired of the dynamic that had become established between him and his older brother.” *le sigh*

August 2020

William and Harry kick off the month on speaking terms, which is a good start! Royal author Phil Dampier told New Idea (via the Daily Mail) that “the pair are speaking at the moment but the conversations are stilted and difficult.”

In other promising developments, Will and Kate wished Meghan a public happy birthday with this super-cute Insta:

And then a new source talked to ET, saying this whole “royal rift” is actually about money more than anything else:

“While Charles may be a father to Harry, he’s also their boss, and that makes their relationship complex for a number of reasons,” a source said, per Entertainment Tonight. “Where you are born in this family dictates your position of power, and because of that, Harry has always come second to his brother, especially when it comes to funding. There were times in the past when Harry wanted to take on bigger projects and do more work, but he couldn’t get the money to support it. William was always the priority. A lot of their quarrels have been over budgets.”

September 2020

After a relatively quiet month of no big royal family events and nice happy birthday wishes, huge news drops: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle signed a multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix. The news probably wouldn’t ruffle feathers, except for the fact that Netflix is responsible for The Crown, which the royal fam has very…mixed feelings about.

According to The Sun, Prince William was especially unhappy with Harry over it. “William and other senior royals are incredibly uncomfortable about this drama and livid Harry is now in partnership with the company that’s airing it.”

Later that month, a new book by royal author Robert Lacey is released titled Battle of Brothers, and it gives more insight into William and Harry’s feud. Lacey claims William actually went ahead and got Princess Diana’s brother Charles Spencer involved in how fast Harry was moving with Meghan, and Harry was…not…thrilled.

“The result of the Spencer intervention was an even more bitter explosion,” an excerpt from the book published by the Daily Mail reads. “Once again Harry refused to slow down. He didn’t blame his uncle. He understood why Diana’s brother should want to help. Yet he was furious with his elder brother for dragging other family members into the row. The fraternal fissure became established. There would be patch-ups and reconciliations, especially when a public show of unity was required. But that anger and mistrust—that distance—has lasted to the present day.”

The book also claimed Harry was “fighting back tears” during one particular “royal snub” by his brother during one of their final royal events together.

October 2020

Robert Lacey released another excerpt of his book Battle of Brothers publicly and this time alleged that William and Harry had a “showdown” over Meghan being involved in British Vogue’s Forces of Change issue because not all the content was impartial.

Per The Mirror, Lacey claims that literally no one knows what ~exactly~ went down during this conversation, but it was “another classic Harry explosion, followed by a further, even deeper rift.”

Separately, Lacey claimed William took this picture to send a “message” to Harry:

“According to insiders, this formal photograph, taken in the Buckingham Palace Throne Room a week before Christmas 2019, was the idea of Prince Charles, anxious to promote his cause of the ‘slimmed-down monarchy.’ Palace sources have also let it be known that the plan of depicting the direct line of royal succession was enthusiastically supported by Prince William, who was not saying anything for the record—but who wanted to send his younger brother a message.”

Well, it kinda worked. The Times claims Harry and Meghan were indeed upset and saw it as a “signal that they were being excluded from royal life.”

November 2020

Okay, clearly, things have not been fantastic among the royals lately, and Queen Elizabeth seems to know it. A new report from The Express claims she’s planning a group counseling session for everyone to clear the air.

“The fact that the Queen is even considering something as New Age as a family counseling session given how old she is shows how bad things are,” the outlet’s source says. “The Queen doesn’t trust that the Sussexes, Cambridges, and Prince Charles will ever be able to sort out their differences on their own, so it’s time for professional help.”

Later in November, Remembrance Day passed in the UK, and Harry and Meghan and William and Kate all honored it separately.

According to the Sunday Times (via People), Harry asked to have a wreath of poppies laid on his behalf, but the request was turned down by courtiers because he doesn’t represent the royals in an official capacity anymore. FYI, the Queen was apparently not aware of Harry’s request.

Either way, Harry is said to be “deeply saddened” by the decision, and he and Meghan Markle went ahead and visited the Los Angeles National Cemetery in order to lay flowers at the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers.

December 2020

A month full of holidays brought some happy news for Prince William and Prince Harry. A new report from Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl says the brothers are getting along “much better” these days.

A source told Vanity Fair that William and Harry have been in regular contact lately, and Meghan and Harry have already sent Christmas presents to the Cambridge family. On top of that, the source said, “I have no doubt they will be video-calling each other over Christmas.”

Speaking of Christmas, things are going so well between Harry, Meghan, William, and Kate that they all decided to send each other gifts this year. According to The Sun, Harry and Meghan sent gifts to William and Kate and to their niece and nephews—a sign of a possible Christmas “truce.” The Daily Mail also reported that William and Kate reciprocated the gesture and sent gifts to Harry, Meghan, and bb Archie Harrison.

In The Sun’s report, Andrew Morton, royal biographer and author of Diana: Her True Story, confirmed thatHarry plans to speak to his father and brother over Christmas.”

February 2021

Welp, so much for tensions between William and Harry being over. William is apparently less than pleased about Meghan and Harry’s Oprah tell-all, and by that I mean he’s “furious.” A source tells Us Weekly that William and the Queen “feel that by sharing [Harry and Meghan’s] side of the story, the entire royal family will be painted in an unfair way.”

And speaking of the interview, palace aides decide to accuse Meghan Markle of “bullying” right before it goes down. In response, Meghan’s team calls the claims an “attack on her character” and Buckingham Palace releases a statement saying its HR will be looking into everything. It’s…a lot!

March 2021

If you thought everything before this was heated≥think again. The Oprah interview finally airs, and it ignites the feud (once again) to epic proportions. Let’s discuss.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, royal reporter Katie Nicholl tells the outlet that “William is devastated by this interview,” adding, “Don’t forget that the Duchess of Cambridge is being dragged into this whole saga and William will hate that and…relationship between father and son is of course at an all-time low. I think that the idea that Kate’s being dragged into this will be upsetting for Kate, who behind the scenes has tried really hard to be a peacemaker between William and Harry. She has been deeply saddened by the brothers’ falling-out. Don’t forget she was incredibly close to Harry herself.”

A source also tells Us Weekly that Will (as well as Kate) is “in total shock after hearing what Meghan and Harry said in the tell-all. What shocked them the most was Meghan’s suicidal thoughts and their quotes on a royal family member mentioning Archie’s skin color. William and Kate knew about some of their troubles with palace aides but nothing to this extent.”

At the same time, though, there’s still a bit of upset because “William and Kate feel that these conversations could have been made in private,” the Us source adds.

After all this drama goes down, a reporter sees William the next day and asks, “Have you spoken to your brother since the interview?” to which he responds, “No, I haven’t spoken to him yet but I will do.” A second reporter asks William, “Can you just let me know, is the royal family a racist family, sir?” Will’s answer? “We’re very much not a racist family.”

The following day, Will and Harry are finally trying to get on the same page—according to Page Six, they’re “looking for ways to have a heart-to-heart talk” and a source confirms “they have opened communication channels.” (I personally would give anything to be a fly on the wall during that convo.)

About that “heart-to-heart talk”—yep, it hasn’t gone too well, unfortunately. Gayle King hops on CBS This Morning and gives an update on Harry and William’s relationship, saying they haven’t made much progress. “I did actually call them [Harry and Meghan] to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too,” Gayle says. “The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation. And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately, but yet they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still.”

After Gayle’s comments make the rounds, royal reporter Rebecca English tells the Daily Mail that the palace had an “icy” response to the update, with a senior royal source saying, “None of the households—the Queen, the Prince of Wales, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge—will be giving a running commentary on private conversations.”

April 2021

Prince Philip passes away at age 99, just two months before his 100th birthday. And predictably, it hits the royal family like a ton of bricks. Despite Will and Harry’s relationship being frostier than ever after the Oprah tell-all interview, the royal family was hopeful that it would “thaw” tensions between them.

“Right now, I’m told he is of course very upset, missing his grandfather, but also relieved to be here in the UK and happy to be here and looking forward to being reunited with his family,” royal reporter Katie Nicholl tells Entertainment Tonight. “It’s going to be an emotional reunion. He hasn’t seen his family for over a year now, so I think a lot of people are thinking maybe there’s a silver lining in all of this that finally there will be a family reunion.”

Nicholl adds, “I think the feeling certainly amongst senior royals and those who know the royals well is that this will be an opportunity for the brothers to be together, to spend some much-needed time together.”

But as promising as all that sounds, Will and Harry have no plans to see each other before the funeral, according to the Daily Mail. The brothers have spoken on the phone, which is a start, but just in case things go a little sour, Kate will be there to play “peacemaker” during their reunion.

A separate source tells The Telegraph (via the Daily Mail) that while Will and Harry aren’t on good terms, “they know it is not about them on Saturday—it is about honoring their grandfather’s memory and supporting their grandmother. I would be extremely surprised if that wasn’t front and center of both their minds. They will be keen to spend time together as a family, in the same time zone for once.”

Harry even buckles down on the request for no drama—he’s been in touch with Will to “park any disputes” at the door before the funeral. Another insider tells The Mirror that Harry has the same talk with Prince Charles, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie (who Harry’s actually close with) just so that everyone’s on the same page. “This is about giving the duke the send-off he deserves, surrounded by his family,” says The Mirror’s source.

Philip’s funeral comes and goes, but things between Harry and William are “extremely frosty,” a source tells The Mirror. “Truth be told, Harry didn’t really know what to expect before he came home, which is why he reached out before seeing everyone,” the source adds. “He wrote a deeply personal note to his dad to try and set things straight but tensions are still running high and things haven’t exactly ironed out the way he had hoped.”

Photo credit: Pool/Max Mumby - Getty Images
Photo credit: Pool/Max Mumby - Getty Images

“Harry didn’t expect everything to be completely back to normal but his feeling after seeing his family was there is a lot of ground to make up,” the source continues. “Whether that is harder or easier to do on the other side of the world remains to be seen. There is a lot of distrust in the camp and everything is still very, very raw.”

Apparently, everything comes back to the Oprah interview, because a family friend tells Vanity Fair royal reporter Katie Nicholl that “William and other members of the family have some very strong feelings about some of the things Harry and Meghan said on Oprah and things need to be talked through.”

“Harry was out in the cold after Oprah and then when details of private family conversations were leaked to Gayle King, it was the final straw,” the insider says. “Some family members cannot believe what he has done, but there is a feeling that with the duke’s death and the family coming together, conversations need to be had.”

But finally, it seems like things start to head in the right direction—a source close to the royal family tells People that Harry and William talking at Philip’s funeral was a “good start” to healing their relationship. It’s gonna take some hard work to get to that fully healed place, as “this whole argument runs so deep, I don’t think there is any quick fix.” Meanwhile, another royal insider adds, “knowing family, it can mend a bit and then can slip back a bit,” which means we’ll just have to sit tight and see how it all plays out.

May 2021

Prince Charles might still be a lil icy toward Harry, but William is actually trying to take the high road and lead by example. At least, according to an Us Weekly source, who says:

“They’re definitely not at the point where they speak on a regular basis, but William wants to be the bigger person and set a precedent. He believes that in order to repair damage and destruction from Harry’s interview, the best approach is to keep things civil with his brother rather than fanning the flames and fighting back with a tit-for-tat attitude.…Elizabeth is proud of William for taking the dignified approach, unlike Charles, who still hasn’t forgiven Harry for dragging his name through the mud.”

Meanwhile, Harry and William’s friend and journalist Tom Bradby provides some additional insight on how things have been between the brothers for the past year: “It used to be quite a straightforward thing, right, because they weren’t arguing and life was simple,” he tells The Times (per The Sun), despite recent reports that William wants to be the better person. “And then it just slowly descended into something that was difficult personally and publicly—really over the past year and a half.”

Princess Diana’s statue unveiling is also set to commence in July 2021, but instead of giving a joint address, Harry and William will be making separate comments at the ceremony.

“The brothers will be physically together for the ceremony but want to make their own personal addresses,” a source tells The Sun, via Page Six. “You might have thought they’d go for a joint statement and speech but that’s not the case. Each has insisted on preparing their own.”

The source adds, “It is a big concern that their body language will suggest all is not well and they won’t present a united front.”

Welp, sounds like there’s reason to worry about Harry’s and Will’s body language, because according to royal expert Nick Bullen, “All of my sources tell me that they are not talking at the moment.” Bullen additionally tells Us Weekly, “It’s pretty clear that the Duchess of Cambridge was doing her best to build the bridges” at Prince Philip’s funeral, but it’s not immediately clear how that’s working out.

June 2021

Harry and Meghan welcome baby Lilibet Diana! But even though this is obviously major life news, Harry doesn’t tell William directly. Instead, he texts Kate to deliver the news about Lilibet’s arrival, according to the Mail on Sunday. The outlet says Kate has always played the role of peacekeeper between and Harry and William, but Harry texting Kate instead of her husband was Harry’s way of “cementing her role as a bridge between him and his brother.”

But it doesn’t seem like Kate needs to intervene much ahead of Princess Diana’s statue unveiling. According to Us Weekly, Harry and Wills plan to “make up” at the event, largely in part due to Lilibet’s arrival. “They [Harry and William] didn’t mend the bond at [Prince Philip’s] funeral,” a source tells the outlet. “But since the baby, they want to move forward. Both brothers are ready to move past the rift and have a good relationship again.”

July 2021

It looks like everything goes as planned at the statue unveiling! “William and Harry spent the morning before the statue unveiling looking through old keepsakes, notes from Diana and bonding,” a separate Us source says. “They have absolutely turned a new page in their relationship and have started the healing. Everyone around them was thrilled to see how close they were on the day of the statue unveiling.”

August 2021

While some were convinced the feud was put to an end, Kinsey Schofield, a royals commentator, isn't so sure "that there is a looming reconciliation."

"I don't suspect that it is a priority for Prince William to patch things up with Prince Harry as they are at severely different stages in their lives," Schofield told The Mirror. "It appears that Prince William is busy trying to support his family through death and scandal while Prince Harry is concentrating on projects that are financially beneficial."

Nothing explicit has happened with the two brothers recently, but we'll keep an eye out for developments on their relationship!


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