A shared grief, some hilarious teasing, and difficult conversations about mental
health. Prince William has said a lot about his younger brother over the years — and,
like their relationship, his feelings are very complicated.
Prince William has been known to crack jokes during speeches,
often at Prince Harry's expense. In 2012, he threw Harry under the bus at the launch of Coach Core,
a training program for aspiring, young athletes. William said in a speech, via Associated Press,
"Watching me on the football field is never a pretty sight. However, it's marginally less
embarrassing than seeing my brother cheat his way to becoming the fastest man on the planet."
While it's unclear what inspired this particular zinger, it appears to have
been William's favorite way to tease his younger sibling. A year later,
he used the same setup to make his audience chuckle during a special visit to the Harry
Potter Experience. William joked to the audience, via Associated Press,
"[Prince] Harry's just excited to see a real-life talking owl in the
'Harry Potter' film. I haven't told him yet that 'Harry Potter' is actually fictional,
so please don't let the secret out just yet."
In the 2016 documentary "Elizabeth At 90: A Family Tribute," William and Harry watched
adorable home videos together. However, William couldn't resist getting a quip
in about Harry's christening gown, which was a traditional long dress.
"It's hard to tell if you're a boy or a girl in that dress."
"Thank you for that."
If their banter was this fiery in public,
we can imagine how heated debates must have been behind the scenes.
The royal brothers haven't made many public appearances together in recent
years. Many have assumed this was due to the family rift, which was caused by
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior royals in 2020. However,
Prince William may have foreshadowed the falling out in a 2004 interview,
when he opened up about the family's complicated dynamic. William explained, per Associated Press,
"We get along, you know, really well, Harry and I and my father. You know, we
are a very close family. There are disagreements, obviously, as all families do, and when they are,
they're big disagreements, but when there's happy times we have a really good time."
When the two brothers looked back through old photographs of their
mother for the documentary "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy,"
Prince William expressed the same nostalgia for the times he shared with his family.
"It's really nice looking back at it and reminding yourself. When I
started looking through it, it brought back so many memories."
Though their lives are very different as adults, the brothers have consistently come
together over the shared loss of their mother, Princess Diana. In August 1997,
the princess was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris. At the time,
Prince William was just 15-years-old, while Harry was only 12.
Now grown up, both men have tried to keep the memory of Diana alive by furthering
her biggest passion projects, sharing their favorite pictures of her, and contributing to
documentaries about her life. In the documentary "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy," Prince
William admitted he often puts his children to bed with stories of their other grandmother.
In 2018, Prince William opened up about how his mother's death impacted him during a
visit to CALM's Best Man Project. Discussing the unusual bond he shares with Harry, William said,
"Losing our mother at a young age has kind of helped us sort
of travel through that difficult patch together."
Though the brothers are best known for their somewhat biting banter,
there have been some genuinely sweet moments between the two over the years.
During a joint interview in 2009, Prince William praised his brother for his hard
work during the air force training program, saying, via Associated Press,
"He puts himself down, but generally he's done seriously well [...] I've talked to his
instructor [...] and he's doing a fantastic job, so he's just very modest about it."
For his part, Prince Harry seemed a little surprised and bashful to receive a compliment
from his brother, so he clearly wasn't expecting it. Prior to the training courses,
Prince William had only good things to say about his baby brother. The two young
royals sat down with "TODAY" to talk about their career goals and potential deployment.
When asked whether he was concerned Prince Harry might end up overseas, William said,
"Of course I worry, but I've got full confidence in what he does.
He knows what he's doing and he's very good at what his job is."
In recent years, Prince Harry has been open about mental health issues. However, it was allegedly
Prince William that first pushed to open up a constructive dialogue on the subject within
the family. Prince Harry, who previously admitted he didn't cry for years after his mother's death,
explained how his older brother repeatedly tried to get him to be honest about his
suffering. During a 2017 segment for the charity Heads Together, Harry said,
"You always said to me, 'You've got to sit down and think about those memories. But for me,
it was like, 'I don't want to think about it.'"
Prince William responded positively, reminding his brother how important it is to prioritize
mental health and encourage other people to talk about their difficulties too.
"Someone has to take the lead and be brave enough to force that conversation."
As most people with siblings know, living with your brothers or sisters
can be extremely difficult. Even William and Harry have revealed that they hated living
together. While speaking to reporters in 2009 about their military training,
a journalist asked whether it was the last time the two princes would be living together.
"First and last time we'll be living together, I assure you."
"It's been a fairly emotional experience."
In the hilarious interview, William continued to insult Harry, revealing that he'd been cooking for
his brother and making sure he was fed. The future king also suggested that his brother
wasn't very good at doing the washing up, and had a habit of leaving the dishes in the sink.
"He snores a lot as well, keeps me up all night long."
Even after Prince Harry got engaged in 2017, Prince William said he was happy to be free
of Harry's snack-stealing. In a video shared by an ITV News reporter on Twitter, William said,
"Personally, I hope it means he stays out of my fridge and will stop scrounging my food,
which he's done for the last few years."
Meghan Markle first began dating Prince Harry in 2016, and it didn't take long for fans and media
outlets to catch on. From the moment she stepped into his life, Megan was a major target for both
praise and humiliation. In November 2016, Prince Harry responded to the press harassment Meghan had
faced by releasing an official statement via the palace. The prince explained,
"Nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past
photographers in order to get to her front door; [...] the substantial bribes offered by papers to
her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life."
Proving that his romance with the former "Suits" star was much more than a fling,
Harry concluded the statement by saying,
"It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that
Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm."
As expected, the royal family did not want to spotlight the drama by commenting on it. However,
Prince William did make an effort to defend his brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law. On
behalf of Prince William, Kensington Palace released an official statement saying,
"The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning
privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him."
While the statement was brief, it was notable because members of the royal
family typically remain quiet on personal matters.
Following the release of Prince Harry's memoir "Spare," readers and royal watchers have picked
apart details of the royal family's public appearances to try and gauge
their reactions to the claims found within the book. As far as official statements go,
though, the family has remained silent. As royal expert Katie Nicholl told Time,
"Dignified silence is a tried and tested format [...] The palace is reluctant to
engage at any level because once they do, it just fuels the narrative and
Harry has made so many allegations it's almost impossible to address every one."
Although Prince William has maintained strict silence on the subject, there's some
evidence to suggest he's aware of what's been written about him. According to The Telegraph,
a fan told William to "keep going" during a meet-and-greet in January 2023, and the
prince allegedly responded by saying, "Yes, I will." The fan later told the publication,
"Of course that was a reference to Harry. He knew what I was talking about."