Prince Harry and William’s Rift Is Reportedly “Very Bad”

The alleged feud between Prince Harry and Prince William has long dominated headlines. In People‘s latest cover story, a royal insider shares that tensions between the brothers are now “very bad” but not “irreparable.”

The so-called rift supposedly began as early as 2016, when William allegedly confronted Harry about his blossoming relationship with Meghan Markle. “He never tried to dissuade me from marrying Megan, but he aired some concerns very early on and said, you know, this is gonna be really hard for you,” Harry later recalled to ITV.

Distanced continued to grow between the brothers leading up to an alleged physical altercation in 2019. Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor.”

Harry and Markle decided to step back from the royal family in 2020, and the gap between the brothers seemed wider than ever. Harry and Markle made their last official royal appearance in 2020 at a Commonwealth Day service, where they sat behind William and Kate Middleton.

Since then, Harry and his brother have only appeared together in public a handful of times. In 2021, the pair joined forces to unveil a statue of their mother, Princess Diana. In September of 2022, they walked side-by-side in Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession. Then, in May of 2023, Harry sat several rows behind William at their father’s Coronation. Most recently, this year, Harry came to London on a brief trip, though he didn’t see William or their father.

Now, it seems that Harry’s texts and calls to his brother are ignored, while calls to his father, King Charles III, are also left “unanswered.” “He gets ‘unavailable right now,’ ” a friend of Harry’s told People. “His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”

These claims come amid reports that Harry and his father’s relationship has deteriorated. Another report today claimed that Harry and his family have not been invited to the traditional royal Christmas celebration at Balmoral.

Insiders claim that Harry and William’s feud could be repaired on the condition that Harry receives what he deems adequate security for his family. “Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father,” a royal insider told People.