Prince Harry and Prince William have endured a notoriously frosty relationship in recent years; William this week did not see his younger brother on a quick trip to the United Kingdom.
In his book, Spare, Harry went so far as to call William his ‘archenemy’ and said the pair had always ‘competed’ and detailed physical altercations between the pair.
But the brothers were once close, as a recently resurfaced clip shows Harry saying the pair can “talk about anything.”
In the clip, filmed for Harry’s 21st birthday, she gushes: “He’s the only person on this earth who, I can really, you know, we can talk about anything, we understand each other and we support each other and everything’s fine.” . ‘
The couple are believed to have formed a very close bond, united in adversity after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, when Harry was just 12 and William was 15.
In a sweet unearthed interview, it becomes clear how close the Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales were when Harry revealed that they “understand each other” and can “talk about anything.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Harry added: ‘Every year we get closer. We’ve even resorted to hugging now after not seeing each other for long periods of time.
‘And yes, he calls me when I’m away, and vice versa.’
He added that as they grew up, Harry began to give William advice.
‘Both in private and in public we talk about everything. If you have problems you want to talk about, then you come to me. And apparently I give him very good advice.
Elsewhere in the interview, Harry revealed that their special bond grew stronger following the tragic death of his mother.
The touching words are in stark contrast to the current stormy relationships between the royal siblings.
Prince William was noticeably absent from Harry’s Invictus Games service at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday.
No high-ranking members of the Royal Family attended the event. His father, King Charles, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, are receiving cancer treatment.
When the Duke of Sussex, 39, appeared solitary in London for the Invictus Games services at St Paul’s Cathedral yesterday, the royal family’s rift became more evident than ever.
Prince William and Prince Harry look serious as they leave the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebration service at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2002.
The couple did not always have a fractured relationship, as the two princes once had a very close bond, united in adversity after the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, when Harry was just 12 and William was 15. .
No senior members of the Royal Family arrived at the Invictus Games 10th anniversary event yesterday (Charles posed with his sons Prince William (R) and Prince Harry (L) during the Royal Family’s ski holiday in Klosters in 2005).
The rift between the brothers first came to light in 2020, when biographer Robert Lacey, a historical consultant on Netflix’s The Crown and author of Majesty, a 1977 study of Queen Elizabeth, wrote Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – the Friendship. and the fights.
He said he was “astonished” and “at times moved to tears” by new details of the breakup that emerged while investigating the conflict.
The book explores the conflicts that arise as a result of the heir and staid dynamics that permeate the British aristocracy, and claims that the “seeds of damage were sown” when William and Harry’s parents’ marriage fell apart.
It will also delve into how the relationship between the two brothers has been affected by their wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, and aims to offer more details about why the Sussexes decided to step down as senior members of the Royal Family and move to Los Angeles. . Angeles with his son Archie.
‘These two brothers, once inseparable and now separated by much more than simple distance, have been enacting contradictions dating back to their childhood and even earlier: to their parents’ unfortunate marriage.
“We’ve seen conflict between heir and spare in every recent generation of the royal family, but nothing as profound as this.”
She added that writing the book was both “painful and fascinating,” admitting: “I have been amazed, and sometimes brought to tears, by the new details and insights I have discovered in researching this story of family conflict.
The “once unbreakable” bond between Prince William and Prince Harry has suffered a “devastating break”
Relations became so bitter that they reportedly did not speak for weeks after Harry’s wedding, where William was best man.
“It has been fascinating and painful to trace this drama through the memories of close witnesses and some of the people most intimately involved.”
The book’s synopsis tells how Lacey investigates the “untold reality” of the siblings’ relationship.
“Much reported but little understood, Diana’s children have lived under constant scrutiny since their birth,” it reads.
‘Raised to be the closest of brothers, the past 18 months have seen a devastating breach of their once unbreakable bond.
“With unrivaled knowledge of court life and access to impeccable sources, Robert Lacey investigated the untold reality of the brothers’ relationship, explaining what happened when two sons were raised for very different futures and showing how the seeds of Damage was sown when his parents’ “marriage fell apart.”
The trigger that caused the rift between William and Harry to develop is believed to have been when the then-Duke of Cambridge advised his younger brother to “take things slow” when he began dating Meghan Markle in 2017.
Relations became so bitter that they reportedly did not speak for weeks after Harry’s wedding, where William was best man. Then Megxit and the way she handled it left William and Charles devastated.
In the documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Duke of Sussex admitted that he and William are “certainly on different paths at the moment.”
He told ITV’s Tom Bradby: “Inevitably things happen.” But we are brothers, we will always be brothers.
A source previously told People that the brothers’ relationship was “forever changed” and that they “won’t go back to the way they were.” “Harry is looking forward to his future with his family,” they added.