Prince William and Prince Harry used to be very close.
Growing up, the siblings had no one else but each other to lean on. Prince William and Prince Harry also had some shared experiences that no one else could relate to. And they also helped each other deal with Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s divorce, as well as the latter’s death.
But over the years, Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship became strained. And royal experts are saying that after almost four years, the tensions between the siblings remain unresolved.
Prince William, Prince Harry’s Relationship Changed Years Ago
While speaking with The Telegraph, royal author Tina Brown claimed that Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship first changed years ago before the latter even met his wife, Meghan Markle. She said that Prince William and Prince Harry used to be very close until the latter left the army.
The royal author said that leaving the army left Prince Harry feeling lost. He had no idea where he belonged and what he was supposed to do, and this led to a strain between him and Prince William.
“The truth is, the more charismatic prince was the younger brother. That was very difficult because Harry had to be contained and a role found for him. He had all these interests in Africa and conservation but so did William and Harry always had to play second banana,” Brown said (via Express).
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Princess Diana Didn't Want Prince William, Prince Harry To Compete With Each Other
According to the royal author, Princess Diana tried her best to make sure that there wouldn’t be any competition between her sons. But this became unavoidable, especially after she passed away.
“Diana insisted, much to her credit as a mother, that the two boys would be treated the same, but they were never going to be the same, that’s the problem. Gradually, that became a major tension between them. William had this great destiny ahead of him, he knew who he was. For Harry, it’s like, ‘Who am I going to be – Uncle Andrew? Am I really going there?’” Brown said.
To make things worse, Prince Harry never reportedly healed following Princess Diana’s untimely demise. He became very insecure, fragile, and hot-headed after the Princess of Wales’s passing, and his life also became extremely chaotic.
Princess Diana Wanted Prince William, Prince Harry To Be Treated Equally
In the Channel 5 documentary Prince Harry: The Troubled Prince, royal commentator Richard Kay discussed Prince William and Prince Harry’s lives growing up. He also said that Princess Diana tried to make sure that her sons would be treated equally.
“Prince Charles shared Diana's concerns about making sure the boys shared things in their early years. But certainly more senior members of the royal family in private were saying: 'This is nonsense. William is the future. All our efforts must go into educating William.’ It was William the Queen would invite for lessons in kingship when he was at Eton and she was at Windsor Castle,” Kay said (via Mirror UK).
In order to compensate for the lack of attention Prince Harry received, Princess Diana decided to pour more love and affection toward her youngest son. But following her passing, Prince Harry grew up on his own but with the guidance of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles.
For years, he was dubbed as a troubled prince because he made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Finally, in 2016, he started dating Markle. Shortly after they got engaged, all sorts of criticisms were thrown at the Duchess of Sussex. And the couple’s wedding also caused a further divide between Prince Harry and Prince William.
The Duke of Cambridge didn’t immediately approve of Prince Harry’s decision to wed Markle. After all, the dad of three felt that the couple didn’t know each other well enough. He was reportedly concerned about his younger brother, but Prince Harry felt that Prince William was just being unsupportive.
As of late, Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship remains distant. It’s unclear if the siblings will ever be able to resolve their issues.
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