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Prince William and Prince Harry show rare display of unity amid 'Harry & Meghan' Netflix drama

william and harry on palace balcony in 2018
William and Harry's new rare display of unityMax Mumby/Indigo - Getty Images

Most of the royal-related headlines this month have been dominated by two things 1) the explosive first-look trailers of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming Netflix docu-series and 2) Kate Middleton's incredibly green and incredibly versatile dress, worn during her and Prince William's trip to Boston. Whilst the latter is all fun and games, the former, however, has certainly firmly moved the spotlight back onto William and Harry's strained relationship.

Despite this, the brothers have put on a rare display of unity this week, ahead of Harry & Meghan airing, in honour of a joint friend of theirs, Henry van Straubenzee – who tragically passed away in a car crash twenty years ago.

Following his heartbreaking and early death, Henry's family created The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund "to try and keep his memory alive" – and this coming Thursday (the same date that the first episodes of Harry & Meghan are set to air) there will be a carol concert performed at St Luke's Church in Chelsea, which the princes have praised in a new joint statement.

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The brothers pictured at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeralChris Jackson - Getty Images

In a statement seen by the press, Prince William and Prince Harry wrote: "We believe everyone here tonight will agree that what Claire and Alex have achieved since 2009 with The Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund, is nothing short of extraordinary.

"As you gather together under this roof tonight, the charity is supporting 51 nursery, primary and secondary schools in rural Uganda, where 1700 projects have been completed and over 35,000 children, each year, are benefitting by receiving education they wouldn't have otherwise. It is with a mixture of great pride and sadness therefore, that tonight we share with you Claire and Alex's plan to embark on a gradual winding down of the charity."

The statement continued on to discuss Henry's legacy and 'mischievous' personality, too. "Henry's legacy will live on through the incredible achievements of his mum and dad have accomplished over the years. For those of us who knew Henners, we will always miss his mischievous charm and hilarious sense of humour."

Both William and Harry, patrons of the memorial fund, are known to be close to the van Straubenzee family as a whole, with Thomas van Straubenzee being Princess Charlotte's godfather and Prince Harry serving as best man at Charlie van Straubenzee's wedding to Daisy Jenks in August 2018.

The two brothers were last seen in public together for the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

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