Once united by royal blood, shared experiences, and brotherly love, Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship now lies in shambles.
Prince Harry and William’s relationship is reportedly crumbling.
The chasm between them seems too deep to bridge and too wide to cross, according to a new report. Despite being raised in the public eye under the same roof, the two royal brothers have found themselves on diverging paths with a relationship that appears beyond repair, a source for PEOPLE claims.
The brothers aren’t said to be as close as they once were.
The brotherly bond between Prince Harry and Prince William was once so strong that it seemed unshakeable. They were each other’s support system, standing together through the loss of their mother, Princess Diana, and growing up in the unforgiving glare of the global spotlight.
A huge rift was caused following Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle.
However, over the past couple of years, their relationship has been strained to its breaking point due to a series of events that have played out in front of the world.
Rumors of a rift between the brothers first emerged in 2018 when Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle decided to split from Kensington Palace and establish their own royal household. The separation was seen as a clear sign of a deepening divide, a crack in the solid front that the brothers had always presented.
Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview caused tension between the family.
The situation became even more volatile following the shocking revelations made by Prince Harry and Markle during their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
During the interview, Prince Harry admitted that he and his brother were on “different paths.” He also revealed that their relationship had become so strained that they were barely speaking.
Things only worsened with the release of Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare.’
Things took a further hit when Prince Harry released his memoir, Spare, where he promised to share “the highs and lows” and “the lessons learned” from his life. The fear was that these revelations could cause more damage to his already fractured relationship with Prince William – and that’s exactly what it did.
Although both brothers have publicly stated their desire to repair their relationship, it seems like there’s no going back. The damage has been done; the trust has been broken. The shared experiences and memories that once bound them together now seem insufficient to mend the rift.
Sources weigh in on the future of Harry and William’s relationship.
“I saw Harry’s release of Spare as his last attempt at telling his family how he’s felt for years,” Omid Scobie, author of the upcoming Endgame, told PEOPLE. “Because clearly there’s never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings.”
He says that while Spare could have healed broken wounds, it ended up doing the complete opposite, causing an even deeper rift between William and Harry.
“I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view,” he continued. “These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown.”
How Meghan Markle is alleged to have caused a rift between Harry and William.
The saga surrounding Markle and the British royal family has been a topic of global discussion since she first came on the scene, with many speculating about the reasons behind their apparent distaste for the Duchess of Sussex.
She boldly accused the royal family of racism.
The feud between Markle and the royal family is a complex issue, steeped in tradition, personal conflicts, and allegations of racism and bullying.
Markle, who was better known as an American actress and philanthropist, was welcomed into the royal family with open arms when she married Prince Harry in 2018. However, it didn’t take long for the honeymoon phase to wear off, and rumors of tension began to circulate.
The royals aren’t believed to be close to Meghan because of the drama that unfolded while she lived in the UK.
The Duchess was accused of being a bully by staff members at Kensington Palace, allegations she vehemently denies. These claims put a strain on relationships within the royal family, causing an increase in animosity towards Meghan.
The cultural differences between Markle’s American upbringing and the strict protocols of the British monarchy may also have fueled the feud. The Duchess has been vocal about her struggles with adapting to royal life, including the intense media scrutiny that comes with it.
Can things still be solved between Harry and his family at this point?
Critics argued that her outspokenness and willingness to challenge tradition have caused friction within the family, who are known for their “stiff upper lip” approach to personal matters.
Another layer to this complicated situation is the alleged racism Markle experienced during her time as a senior royal. In a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, she and Harry claimed that there were concerns within the royal family about the color of their son Archie’s skin before he was born. The couple did not specify who made these remarks but said they were hurtful and damaging.