Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship is said to be severely fractured – not because of the Duke of Sussex’s royal exit, but due to the deafening silence from his brother.
“At this point, Harry’s resentment towards William seems less about the Sussexes’ actual exit in 2020 and more about what came after: the silence, the distance, and the sense that the family iced them out because they dared to speak up,” royal commentator and podcast host Amanda Matta told Fox News Digital.
“There simply has to be frustration that the family won’t engage in good faith with the points that Harry has raised, even though he’s done so publicly,” Matta added.
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Matta’s statements came shortly after a royal insider claimed to Us Weekly that there is “lingering resentment” between the battling brothers.
“Harry left a large gap in William’s world, not just personally but practically,” the source told the outlet. “The whole idea was for Harry to work hand-in-hand with William and to divide and conquer during William’s monarchy. So Harry not being there is tough. [William] feels deserted by his brother – not that he would ever say that out loud.”
The insider claimed to the outlet that William, who is heir to the British throne, plans to lean more on his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as he prepares for the future of his reign.
“Currently, and for the foreseeable future, the relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William remains deeply fractured, with really no sign of any reconciliation,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital.
“Their lives and priorities have diverged dramatically since Harry decided to depart from royal duties. Harry is still harboring lingering resentment toward William, as evident in his comments. He has whined about both the estrangement and his sense of being unsupported, particularly regarding issues like security.”
“Harry has stated he has ‘forgiven’ family members, but his actions and public statements suggest his constant dwelling on past grievances, his ongoing frustration and disappointment instead of focusing, as his brother has done, on serving others,” Fordwich claimed.
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But Matta sees things differently for Harry, who is continuing to raise his young family in California.
“I don’t think Harry regrets leaving royal life behind, but he may regret how completely that choice cut him off from his father and brother,” she explained. “And I’d imagine there’s frustration that no one has ever stepped outside the palace machine to reach out… even now, with Charles and Kate facing serious illnesses.”
“As for whether William is jealous of Harry’s freedom… if he is, he’d never phrase it that way,” said Matta. “He’s too rooted in the idea of his duty to openly admit wanting anything else. But you can see hints of that in how he’s quietly carving out more space for his personal life, seizing more privacy for his wife and kids and taking more control over his platform. He may not want Harry’s lifestyle, but he’s taken note of what boundaries look like from his brother.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020, citing the unbearable intrusions of the British press and a lack of support from the palace. That year, they moved to the wealthy, coastal city of Montecito.
Since their exit, the couple has aired their grievances in interviews, documentaries and Harry’s 2023 memoir, “Spare.” His story is dominated by his rivalry with William, and the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
In his book, Harry appears to be tormented by his status as a royal “spare” behind William. He recounts a long-standing sibling rivalry that worsened after Harry began a relationship with American actress Meghan Markle, whom he married in 2018.
He said that during an argument in 2019, William called Meghan “difficult” and “rude,” then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl.
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Neither Buckingham Palace nor William’s Kensington Palace office has commented on any of the allegations.
In May of this year, Harry said he wanted to reconcile with his family after losing a court battle over his publicly funded security. The 40-year-old said his father, 76, wouldn’t speak to him.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” said Harry. “I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Sources previously told People magazine that Harry’s letters and phone calls to his father go unanswered. Royal experts told Fox News Digital that Harry’s relationship with William is nonexistent.
“I think it is clear the supposedly inseparable siblings had less in common than we imagined,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital.
“‘Spare’ made this pretty clear. Harry resented the way he was treated as a bit of a joker and the royal wild child. He was also traumatized by the death of his mother and resentment about security issues stems directly from this – this was very clear in his angry interview recently on the BBC.”
“William undoubtedly and rightly feels betrayed by Harry as [the interviews and memoir] were so damaging,” Fitzwilliams claimed. “At the heart of this is the fact that he feels he cannot trust his brother or Meghan ever again.”
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According to Us Weekly, the distance between the brothers only grows as they continue to go separate ways.
“William and Harry are separated by more than an ocean,” royal historian Marlene Koenig told Us Weekly. “There are no plans for a reconciliation. They are two brothers living very separate lives.”
Fordwich agreed.
“Prince William… has a full life, full of purpose and a fabulous extended family,” she said, noting that now, more than ever, he is dedicated to the crown.
“He has zero reason to ever want the… meaningless life his drifting brother has fallen into,” said Fordwich.
Fitzwilliams pointed out that in July 2027, Harry is hosting his Invictus Games in Birmingham. There is a possibility that an olive branch could be extended to meet with his father and brother while he’s in his home country.
“William and [Princess] Catherine are highly unlikely to attend,” he said. “What develops from it, if the king does go, might conceivably be constructive.”
While Harry and Meghan are no longer working royals, royal expert Ian Pelham Turner does believe that a family reconciliation would benefit William’s reign.
“I interviewed a group of young graduates the other day, all in their early 20s, where we discussed how they perceived the future and the values of the royal family,” he told Fox News Digital. “Consistently, they felt they were over privileged, a dinosaur from the past.”
“Should Charles manage to remain on the throne another 10–20 years, William and Kate may become an irrelevance,” he claimed. “The sands of time may be running out, so perhaps William should reconsider his strategy and bring Harry, Meghan and family back into The Firm.”
