They were once each other's best confidantes – and now, they barely speak.
Here's why this royal relationship is on the rocks, and why one insider thinks it can never
be fixed.
Prince William and Prince Harry were previously reported to be very close, especially following
the death of their mother Princess Diana, when the world cast a light on them in their
most vulnerable moment.
But that brotherly bond has been increasingly strained in recent years, with William on
a path toward the throne, and Harry on a path out of royal life entirely.
As a source informed Us Weekly, William and Kate Middleton were "blindsided" by Harry's
decision to leave the royal family alongside Meghan Markle in early 2020.
Likewise, the Sussexes' official statement on the matter left them flummoxed.
As the source explained,
"It's sad because when they were younger, William would be the first person Harry would
go to with big news like this."
Things have allegedly only gotten worse since Meghan and Harry gradually made more of a
life for themselves in California.
During an interview with Today's Hoda Kotb coinciding with the fifth Invictus Games,
an athletic competition for veterans he founded, Harry deflected a question about whether he
missed his father and brother, saying,
"For me, at the moment, I'm here to focus on these guys and these families, and giving
everything I can."
"That's my focus here, and then I leave here, I get back, and my focus is my family, who
I miss massively."
The prince has returned to the U.K. just a handful of times since leaving, most recently
for the celebration of Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee.
At those events, William was reportedly wary of conversing with Meghan and Harry in case
whatever they discussed ended up being passed off to the press.
That lack of communication didn't help their relationship; now, it seems the situation
may be beyond fixing.
A source told Us Weekly the estranged siblings have actually been on the outs for a long
time.
Things allegedly got significantly worse following Harry's interview with Oprah Winfrey, during
which the royal defector revealed just how tough he'd found his final years with the
monarchy.
Now, according to the insider, their relationship is "irreparable" and any chance of reconciliation
is "doomed."
William reportedly doesn't trust or even fully recognize who Harry is anymore, especially
considering the Duke of Sussex has continued speaking out about the royal family even after
moving stateside.
As a result, the insider says,
"They'll never recover from the damage that has been done."
"It's a very trapping environment that a lot of them are stuck in."
Saddest of all, William reportedly still cares about his brother, even if he no longer understands
what's causing their divide.
According to the Us Weekly source,
"William's not one to bear grudges but what's right is right.
He'll be civil to a point, but he's not going to play happy families with them again or
pretend that everything's A-OK when it's anything but."
At the queen's recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations, Harry and Meghan Markle notably didn't spend
any time with William and Kate Middleton.
They sat apart from each other at the thanksgiving service at St. Paul's Cathedral and arrived
and departed at different times, seemingly to avoid risking any interaction between them.
It's disappointing to learn the brothers allegedly aren't any closer to mending their relationship,
since William and Harry reportedly had a quiet reconciliation not too long ago.
As the Mirror reported at the time, the battling royals made a point of having regular FaceTime
chats in the run up to the Jubilee to ensure it wasn't uncomfortable when everybody was
reunited.
Likewise, William and Harry were messaging each other while their wives stayed completely
out of it to give them the space to sort out their issues privately.
An insider claimed to The Mirror,
"The brothers needed time for everything to settle down.
The family, including William, had been disappointed in the way Harry and Meghan chose to leave
the royal family."
Thankfully, time seemed to have healed most, if not all, their wounds, and bonding over
their children further helped the formerly close siblings work things out.
But a separate source told the Mirror that the feud was still a "constant strain" on
William, alleging that both he and Harry regretted their behavior toward each other in the recent
past.
Considering how often the situation seems to change, it remains to be seen whether things
are really hopeless between the princes or if they can sort it out.
Although their wives previously stayed firmly out of it, new reports suggest Kate Middleton
is doing her best to fix the fractured relationship between Princes William and Harry before it's
too late.
As an insider told Us Weekly,
"She can sense that despite everything that has happened, William still feels the loss
of Harry."
According to the source, the duchess is, quote, "frantically trying to play peacemaker," even
speaking to both William and Harry separately in an effort to get them to finally see eye
to eye again.
Unfortunately,
"The issue is William and Harry are both overly stubborn, so there's not much hope."
In fact, according to the insider, the seating arrangement at the recent thanksgiving service
was engineered to keep the brothers from attracting too much scrutiny.
Clearly, the boys need someone to intervene, with Harry reportedly proposing a mediator
at one stage, as royal expert Katie Nicholl informed Entertainment Tonight.
She revealed,
"It was something that he had suggested to his father.
He's made it very clear that he wants to sort things out.
He wants things to be improved."
Harry reportedly hoped to be on better terms with both his brother and Prince Charles by
the time the Jubilee rolled around, but sadly that doesn't appear to have happened – and
some insiders think it never will.
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