Following the late Queen’s mantra of ‘Never complain, Never explain’, Prince William has so far remained silent in public on the subject of his sad ongoing rift with his younger brother, Prince Harry.
However, whether prompted by the season of forgiveness fast approaching or Eugene Levy’s infinitely comforting and friendly face, when William, 43, appeared on the actor and comedian’s new Apple+ show, The Reluctant Traveller, earlier this month, the heir to the throne unexpectedly mentioned Harry’s name.
Poignantly discussing the world he wants his eldest son Prince George to be a part of when he one day becomes King, William said, ‘I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past, that Harry and I had to grow up in – and I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.’
Now a source reveals that after five years of estrangement, William could be set to reconcile with Harry before the year is out – but only if certain stipulations are put in place.
The insider says, ‘William is not totally closed off to the idea of making peace with Harry, he knows how much it would mean to his father King Charles and Kate [Middleton], especially with Christmas fast approaching.
‘William finds it very offensive when people accuse him of having a heartless or stubborn attitude towards his brother. He’s aware that ultimately every family needs peace and that it does nobody any good at all to be holding onto resentment.
‘But there’s no way he’s willing to pick up the phone and do this casually, it would need to be a supervised discussion and handled with total discretion.
And now the source says that William has put one non-negotiable rule in place – no Meghan Markle!
The insider tells us, ‘Harry has always previously insisted that he’d never come to the table unless Meghan’s invited, but he put that principle aside for the meeting with his father and the word is that he’s willing to do the same with William.
‘It’s no secret that the biggest elephant in the room in all of this is the influence of Meghan, whom he can’t stand, and in his mind was the worst thing that could have happened to his brother as well as the monarchy in recent years.’
But following Harry’s much awaited reunion with his father King Charles in London last week, it quickly became apparent that the estranged royal is not yet happy to take a vow of silence when it comes to talking publicly about the Royal Family – something William undoubtedly will not take kindly to.
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Just days after his brief 54-minute afternoon tea with Charles, 76, during a short trip back to the UK last month, Harry, 41, found himself at the centre of yet another storm after he accused the ‘men in grey’ of attempting to ‘sabotage’ his dreams of reconciliation with his dad.
Whispers of what exactly happened at the royal tete-a-tete were widely reported, with inside sources revealing that Harry had gifted Charles with a picture of Meghan and had been ‘surprised’ to feel ‘more like a visitor’ than a family member.
A spokesperson for Harry then released a damning statement, accusing palace ‘sources’ of being ‘intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son’. They also confirmed while a gift of a framed photo was given, it did not feature either the Duke or Duchess of Sussex.
As we have previously reported, keeping the ‘men in grey’ on side is crucial to the longevity of the monarchy. But our source says William has been left torn over the advice of the courtiers and calls for peace from his father and Kate.
‘There’s still a big divide within the Firm,’ the insider says. ‘A lot of courtiers still don’t trust Harry and they think it’s crucial for William to stand his ground and stay far away from the Sussexes. And right now, William is aggravated that Harry’s been able to weasel his way back into his father’s good graces.
‘But there’s only so much resistance he can put up against his own wife and father, who are telling him in no uncertain terms that enough is enough and it’s high time for peace.’
Last month marked three years since Harry and William were last reported to have ‘briefly’ spoken to one another at the funeral of their grandmother amidst the sad rift that has torn the Royal Family apart.
The two estranged brothers, who almost 30 years ago were a picture of unity as they walked side-by-side behind their mother’s coffin, were forced to be in the same room together for their uncle’s funeral last August, but they reportedly barely looked at one another – confirming the devastating truth that they are now all but strangers.
It’s reported that William is still ‘furious’ over the claims, including those of bullying and racism, that Harry and Meghan have levelled at the royals in the nearly-six years since they stepped down as senior working royals.
And the source says that William is ‘tired’ of having to constantly remind their inner circle of the havoc that Harry has wreaked on the monarchy with no signs of remorse so far.
The insider says, ‘At the end of the day he still can’t forgive or forget Harry and Meghan’s actions towards the family as a whole, and the fact they still haven’t properly apologised to this day just beggars belief from William’s point of view.
‘He’s sick and tired of reminding people that they’ve inflicted so much grief and stress on the family, his late grandparents included, and the fact Harry’s doubled down so many times on his brutal stance has been equally infuriating.’
However, with the 30th anniversary of their mother’s death fast approaching in 2027, the source says William is being reminded by Kate of his and Harry’s mutual goal to promote good causes – something they have inherited from their mother and grandmother.
Now the source adds, ‘William is impressed by Harry’s commitment to good causes and does privately acknowledge deep down that his mother and his grandmother would never have wanted this feud to have dragged on for so long.
‘He also respects Kate’s point of view, which is that they need to take a merciful, Christian attitude towards Harry and acknowledge that he’s a very vulnerable character who’s doing some good in the world as he forges his own path.’
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Once nicknamed the ‘third wheel’ to William and Kate, who once bought him a ‘grow-your-own-girlfriend’ kit, Harry has previously shared that spending time as a trio was ‘fun’, and later saw him take on the role of ‘fun uncle’ to the couple’s children Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, ten, and Prince Louis, seven.
And now the source says that behind their sad rift, William still misses the brother he feels he has lost and feels regretful that his children have not formed any relationship with their cousins, Harry and Meghan’s children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four.
‘He remembers the good times when they could knock back a few beers and enjoy sports games together, rambles, hunting trips, holidays away and so on and so forth,’ the insider says.
‘It’s been lonely for him to spend so long totally apart from his only sibling, and it goes without saying that he finds it extremely unfortunate, tragic even, that their respective kids have no relationship to speak of at present.
‘So for those reasons and in the interests of decency, he is slowly softening and in agreement that it may be time to open the door to some type of dialogue with Harry.’
However, the source warns that after so much mutual hurt, the brothers could find themselves butting heads once again if they each demand an apology.
They tell us, ‘It’s a huge shift in stance but William is adamant that this doesn’t mean he’s softening up. If Harry wants to get in line and show respect, preferably bringing a meaningful apology to the table whilst he’s at it, then there’s room for optimism on both sides.
‘But with so much mud under the bridge and so much stubbornness between them it does still mean they’ve got a mountain to climb.’
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