For decades, Princes William and Harry have been bound by shared grief and public scrutiny, but decades after the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, their once-close brotherly bond has fractured into an open rift that has left the British royal family and the world watching closely. Now, as Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, prepares to travel back to the United Kingdom in the coming weeks alongside his wife Meghan Markle and their two young children, all attention is turning to whether the estranged siblings can finally begin to repair their broken relationship.
The story of William and Harry’s falling out traces back to their shared childhood trauma. When Diana died in a 1997 car crash, the two boys – then 15 and 12 years old – walked behind her coffin through silent London streets, capturing the heart of a nation that mourned alongside them. Before her death, Diana had made her two beloved sons promise to always stand by each other. But almost 30 years after her passing, the brothers are no longer on speaking terms. Their last public appearance together came in September 2022, when they gathered for the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
From early childhood, the pair was defined by their roles: William, the 44-year-old heir to the British throne, was framed as steady and charming, while 41-year-old Harry was cast as the charming, roguish spare – a label Harry would later center in his explosive 2023 autobiography. For years, their relationship remained warm: when William met Catherine Middleton at university, Harry famously welcomed her as the sister he had always wanted, and the three were often seen together in public. But the dynamic shifted dramatically when Harry introduced Meghan Markle, a divorced American former actress three years his senior, to William in 2016. According to Harry’s account in *Spare*, William’s reaction was cold, with the elder prince advising Harry against rushing into a relationship with Meghan.
After Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding, the two royal couples were initially branded the “Fab Four” by the press, but tensions quickly bubbled to the surface. Harry accused William of failing to support Meghan as she adjusted to life within the rigid structures of the royal family, while tabloid outlets stoked rivalry by pitting Catherine, the beloved, refined Princess of Wales, against Meghan, framed as an unpredictable outsider. By late 2019, the rift was too big to hide: Harry acknowledged publicly in a television interview that he and his brother had gone down “different paths.” In early 2020, Harry and Meghan stepped back from their senior royal roles, eventually relocating to Montecito, California, where Harry remains in self-imposed exile.
The gulf between the brothers only widened after two high-profile public revelations from the Sussexes. First, in a 2021 explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple leveled a series of damaging accusations against the royal family, including claims of institutional racism, and Harry claimed William only chose Catherine because she fit the narrow mold of a royal wife. Then, in 2023, Harry’s autobiography *Spare* went even further, alleging that William had physically attacked him during an argument over Meghan, and describing William as both his “beloved brother” and his “arch-nemesis.” Harry wrote that he had always been cast as the backup: “I was the shadow, the support. I was brought into the world in case something happened to Willy.”
Even the February 2024 announcement that King Charles III – William and Harry’s father – had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment failed to bring the brothers back together. In a emotional February 2025 BBC interview, a visibly distressed Harry opened up about the rift, admitting that some members of his family will never forgive him for publishing his memoir. “Of course some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book,” he told the outlet. Still, he added, “I would love for reconciliation.” Harry also shared that he misses the UK, and confirmed that he and Meghan had a private meeting with Charles and Queen Camilla in July, which marked the first time their children – 7-year-old Archie and 5-year-old Lilibet – had seen their grandfather since 2022. But even that private family meeting did not bridge the gap between the two brothers, and the distance between William in the UK and Harry in California has only deepened the rift.
Now, with Harry’s upcoming visit, royal experts have differing views on the likelihood of reconciliation. Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP he believes William will be deeply unhappy about Harry’s return, and is firmly opposed to any mending of ties. “I think William would be adamantly opposed to this. Because there is a very deep rift,” Fitzwilliams said. “He feels Harry has betrayed him. He’s made that clear.”
But royal historian Ed Owens argues that reconciliation is in the best interest of both Charles and William, especially as William prepares to one day take the throne. When William becomes king and head of the Church of England, forgiving his brother will be a core Christian duty, Owens noted. “I expect it will take some time,” Owens said. But he added that William would ultimately choose to reconcile, which would allow him to project an image of benevolence and magnanimity to the public.
As the world waits for Harry’s arrival, the question remains: will the brothers finally keep the promise they made to their mother nearly 30 years ago, or will their deep-seated anger and hurt keep them apart forever?