For many years, Prince Harry and Prince William were portrayed in the media to be extremely close. After all, they grew up in the spotlight together and both dealt with the death of their mother, Princess Diana, at a young age.
However, in recent months, Harry has been telling a different story. According to the Duke of Sussex, he and his older brother were never close.
Meghan Markle has been blamed for causing a rift between the brothers
After Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018, the public started getting glimpses into Harry and William’s strained relationship. In 2020, Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals and moved to California. Afterward, there were reports that the Sussexes were not in contact much with William and his wife, Kate Middleton.
As a result, Meghan has frequently been blamed for causing the rift between Harry and William. The term “Megxit” is also used to describe the time when the Sussexes quit being senior royals, which insinuates that Meghan was behind the departure.
Prince Harry claims that he and Prince William were never close
According to Harry’s memoir, Spare, he and William were never as close as the media portrayed them to be. He told many stories of alleged mistreatment from William throughout his childhood and young adulthood.
For example, Harry recalled that when he began attending Eton College alongside William, the older prince wanted his younger brother to not acknowledge their connection.
“For the last two years, [William] explained, Eton had been his sanctuary,” Harry said (via Newsweek). “No kid brother tagging along, pestering him with questions, pushing up on his social circle. He was forging his own life, and he wasn’t willing to give that up…For Willy it was pure agony to wear the same blazer, the same tight shorts, as me. And now, to attend the same school, was pure murder. I told him not to worry. ‘I’ll forget I ever knew you.’”
In 2019, William also confronted Harry over Meghan’s reported mistreatment of palace staff. Harry claimed that William came to his home and physically attacked him.
“He set down the water, called me another name, then came at me,” Harry wrote. “It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dogs’ bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”
Prince Harry wants to ‘find peace’ with Prince William
In a January 2023 interview with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes to promote his memoir, Harry shared that it had been “a while” since he last spoke with William. Still, he holds onto the hope that they could eventually move past their differences.
“I look forward to us being able to find peace,” Harry said.
