William and Harry’s attendance at a memorial service this week is not thought to herald a reconciliation after they apparently walked away without speaking to each other.
The estranged brothers had relatives among them as they left the small church where the private service was held in honor of their uncle.
Witnesses say they did not see them speak at a later reception.
The princes’ joint appearance at Thursday’s service to mark the life of former royal courtier Lord Fellowes, who was married to their mother Diana’s sister Lady Jane, was described as a “pleasant surprise”. But in royal circles it is not being seen as a thaw in relations.
Prince William is known to still be deeply hurt by Harry’s constant and virulent attacks on his family. According to his friends, he simply doesn’t talk about Harry and instead focuses on his wife, Kate (who is still undergoing cancer treatment), his children and his work.
William and Harry’s attendance at a memorial service for their uncle is not considered a reconciliation.
The brothers are believed to have not spoken properly for two years.
Harry, whose PR team had previously briefed friendly media to say he would not be flying to the UK for the event, is not believed to have travelled to join his father at Balmoral.
King Charles is at his Scottish residence with the Queen and is about to welcome his new prime minister for the first time. Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, will arrive today for the annual summer tradition.
Harry and Charles last saw each other briefly in February, when the Duke of Sussex insisted on flying to the UK from California for a meeting that lasted just 30 minutes after the King’s cancer diagnosis was announced.
Harry has since returned to London once again in May, but the King’s schedule was packed with work and his cancer treatment, meaning they did not meet.
The prince has maintained a close relationship with the family of his late mother, Princess Diana. His brother, Earl Spencer, attended a service to mark the 10th anniversary of Harry’s Invictus Games in London, at which no senior royals were present.
Lord Fellowes was a long-serving courtier at Buckingham Palace, working for Queen Elizabeth for 22 years until 1999. It was a period that spanned both the breakdown of his sister-in-law’s marriage to Charles and her death in 1997.
He died in July at the age of 82, and a private funeral was held on Monday for a handful of close relatives. A second, larger funeral for 300 family and friends was held on Thursday at his village church, St Mary’s in Snettisham, Norfolk. Sources do not rule out the brothers having greeted each other or even exchanged greetings. They are both thought to have sat at the back of the church, but not near each other.
A Snettisham resident said: “We never saw them talking to each other and they kept their distance.”
The vicar who conducted the service said that while he did not see them inside the church, William and Harry walked “a few people away” as they left, and he did not see them speaking at the reception.
Lord Fellowes was a long-serving Buckingham Palace courtier who worked for Queen Elizabeth for 22 years until 1999.
The Rev. Dan Tansey admitted he was surprised to see them both there and that he had not been given any advance warning.
Asked if the brothers were sitting close to each other in church, he added: “I don’t know because I was in the sacristy.
‘When I left to start the service, they had already arrived, but I didn’t even realize they were there until after the service, when I ran into people on my way out.
‘They came out, shook my hand and said hello. I couldn’t see where they were sitting in the church. I was just greeting one person at a time as they came out. They came out a few people away.
“Luckily, I hadn’t been informed about it, so I couldn’t say anything to people who asked me about it. I was in blissful ignorance.”
The Rev Tansey added: ‘It was only as I was thanking the congregation on the way out that Prince William shook my hand, and very quickly after that, so did Prince Harry. It was a surprise, but a very pleasant one, that they had both come, but it was perhaps less surprising that William was there. On the way out, they both thanked me for the service and I thanked them for coming.
“It would have meant a great deal to Lord Fellowes to have had them both present at the service. He was very fond of them both.”
The vicar did not recall Harry and William speaking to each other at the reception. He said: “I don’t remember them speaking to each other, but there were lots of family and friends talking to them. It was lovely that the princes could be there to support their aunt and cousins.”
Harry flew from Los Angeles on Tuesday and quietly arrived in the UK. The prince, who is suing the Home Office for withdrawing his police protection when he abandoned royal duties and left the UK and says it is not safe to bring his wife or family here, then travelled to Norfolk to attend the memorial.
St Mary’s parish church in Snettisham, Norfolk, where Lord Fellowes’ memorial service was held (file photo)
Harry’s spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Kensington Palace also declined to comment on William’s behalf, saying it was a private matter.
But another source said William would never have intervened to dissuade his brother from attending the service. They said: “His (Harry’s) appearance was a surprise to most people, I think. I couldn’t say what the details were, but what I can tell you is that Prince William is a decent guy.
‘He would understand that his brother wanted to be there and that (his invitation) would be a Spencer family matter. I’m sure he would have been notified beforehand and would have taken it in stride. He’s good at compartmentalizing those kinds of things.
‘Don’t forget that it was William’s idea, despite everything that had happened, to ask Harry and Meghan to join him and Catherine for that walk around Windsor after Queen Elizabeth died. He did so knowing what his brother had done and that he planned to publish his book. But he will always do the right thing in these circumstances.’