If rumors are to be believed, Prince Harry and Princess Eugenie—his closest cousin and the younger daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson—are at odds with one another. Is there any truth to it? Well, not so fast.

According to People’s new cover story about the Duke of Sussex, there was no falling out between the cousins, both grandchildren of the late Queen Elizabeth. Despite reports that suggest otherwise, the outlet reported that Harry and Eugenie’s “close relationship remains intact.”

Princess Eugenie and Prince Harry on June 16, 2012.

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The buzz about a possible feud began after Piers Morgan suggested on his show Piers Morgan Uncensored that Harry went “completely ballistic” after Eugenie was photographed outside of a pub in London with a group that included Morgan himself—including Eugenie and Morgan sharing a brief hug. (Morgan has been a longtime, outspoken critic of Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle.)

Sources, though, told People that rumors of tension are false, plain and simple. “The Duke remains close to Princess Eugenie,” a source told the publication. “They always have [been] and always will be.”

Harry and Eugenie’s close ties go way back. In addition to going to the Super Bowl together and Eugenie appearing in Harry and Meghan’s eponymous six-part Netflix docuseries in 2022, Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare that Eugenie was one of the first to know about Harry and Meghan’s budding romance in its early days in 2016.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on September 25, 2017.

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“I remember Euge hugging Meg, as if they were sisters,” Harry wrote. “I remember [Harry’s friend] Charlie giving me a thumbs up. I remember thinking, ‘If meeting the rest of my family goes like this, we’re home free.’” (Well…)

Eugenie and her then-boyfriend (and now husband) Jack Brooksbank also went out for a Halloween party in 2016 with Harry and Meghan—the couple’s last night of anonymity before their relationship became front page news the next day. Harry and Meghan and Eugenie and Jack have kids around the same ages, and Harry and Meghan reportedly visited Eugenie and Jack in Portugal—where the Brooksbanks live half the time—on their way home from the Invictus Games in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2023. It even emerged last fall that Harry and Meghan purchased a vacation home of their own in Portugal, which would mean they’d see Eugenie with aplomb.

“Despite tabloid reports painting him as isolated and unhappy, Harry has fully embraced his California lifestyle while honing his surfing skills, enjoying evenings out with Meghan and close friends, and finding renewed purpose in his work,” People wrote in its cover story.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on August 15, 2024.

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Prince Harry is also said to share a bond with Eugenie’s older sister Princess Beatrice, but it’s Eugenie that remains the “bridge” between Harry and the royal family, Hello! reported. 

“I think for Harry, Eugenie is his go-to royal,” said Dr. Anthony Wallersteiner, a family friend who also serves as chair of Street Child, one of the Duchess of York’s charities. “I think those cousins are very close, which is good, and I think Eugenie acts as a bridge between Harry and the rest of the family, which is really useful to have.”

Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank, and Prince Harry on June 3, 2022.

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Princess Eugenie, Prince Harry, and Jack Brooksbank on May 6, 2023.

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While the relationship between Harry and Eugenie seems strong, the same, unfortunately, can’t be said for Harry and other members of the royal family. His relationship with older brother Prince William is reportedly nonexistent, and even as his father, King Charles, is continuing to receive treatment for cancer, the relationship between the two men is “distant”—with Harry even finding out about his father’s recent hospitalization on March 27 through the media, and not his father himself.