I know why Prince Harry and William’s explosive feud is here to stay – it’s so obvious, reveals royal expert
PRINCE Harry’s explosive feud with Prince William is ‘firmly cemented’ and here to stay, according to a royal expert.
The Duke of Sussex visited the UK this month for a three-day trip but declined to meet up with either King Charles or his older brother.
However, royal historian and author Gareth Russell claims a statement released by Prince Harry reveals the true extent of his rift with Prince William.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry stated he had wanted to see King Charles but wasn’t able to due to the monarch’s “full programme” – but made no mention of seeing his brother.
Speaking to The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson on our Royal Exclusive show, Gareth said: “That’s really interesting.
“I think it’s being picked up on that it almost was just taken as read that this time they wouldn’t meet, which in itself, the silence tells its own story doesn’t it, that this time, no one expected the two of them to meet.
“We didn’t have any leaks coming from either camp that there was going to be a potential meeting where the one wanted it and the one didn’t, and that probably suggests that the rift is pretty firmly cemented by the stage.”
William is said to have been stung by his brother’s attacks in recent years and has reportedly not spoken to Harry since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
This follows Harry slamming the royal family in his bombshell Spare memoir where he claimed William ‘attacked’ him in a row over Meghan.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also spilled details about the royal family in their Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary.
To the shock of many it told stories of Meghan’s “jarring” first meeting with Princess Kate and Harry making digs at his father.
Prince Harry travelled on May 7 from his Montecito mansion in a whirlwind three-day visit for a glitzy Invictus event at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8.
His spokesperson confirmed: “It unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.
“The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
Harry and Charles last reunited at Clarence House in February for their first face-to-face meeting in 16 months following Charles announcing he has cancer.
On his recent visit this month, the prince flew to the UK alone without Meghan or their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, two.
Charles, 75, recently resumed public duties for the first time since beginning cancer treatment.
Sources claimed the King had agreed to let his distant son stay in a royal residence for the trip – but the offer was turned down.
The silence tells its own story doesn’t it, that this time, no one expected the two of them to meet
Gareth Russell
Harry is understood to have stayed in a hotel during his visit.
As reported by the Sunday Times, insiders close to His Majesty alleged it would have been more practical to arrange a meeting between the father and son should Harry have opted for a royal residence.
Prince Harry's statement about meeting up with King Charles
A SPOKESPERSON for the Duke of Sussex released a statement in regards to his May UK visit.
It said: “It unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.
“The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
However, friends close to the duke insist he did his best to arrange seeing Charles before the long-awaited trip.
Following his UK trip, Prince Harry flew to Nigeria with Meghan Markle for a three-day visit in an effort to get the country to host the Invictus Games in 2029.
Harry and Meghan, who is of Nigerian descent, met with service members and their families, and participated in traditional cultural activities.
A timeline of Prince Harry's family feud
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry, 39, also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan, in his memoir.
In Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.