A lot has been reported about Prince Harry and Prince William’s complicated relationship, so we’re going to explain their brotherly connection, as well as their current reported rivalry.
Prince William was born June 21, 1982 to Prince Charles and his bride, Diana. From infancy, William was beloved by his royal subjects, who knew that one day he would be king. Two years later on September 15, 1984, his younger brother Harry was born. As William and Harry entered adolescence, their parents’ one-time fairy tale marriage was in shambles. There were reports of infidelity by both their mother and father. Charles admitted to a years-long love affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, while Diana was outed for a relationship she had with a dashing red-haired polo player and calvary officer named James Hewitt. Royal watchers began to speculate that it was Hewitt who was Harry’s true father, and not Prince Charles. It’s been widely reported that Harry spent a good deal of his childhood interacting with and looking up to Hewitt. With the bad publicity surrounding Charles and Diana’s relationship growing at fever pitch, the Hewitt rumors certainly didn’t help matters. Diana was finally forced to address the affair during her tell-all interview with journalist Martin Bashir. Rumors of Harry’s paternity have continued to dog the brothers for years.
Princes William and Harry were reportedly awakened by their father and told the news of their mother’s death in the early morning hours of August 31, 1997. Harry was just two weeks shy of his 13th birthday, and along with his older brother, was scheduled to spend time with his mother after the summer ended. William was 15 and in school at Eaton. As an older teen, the death was unfathomable, but William had a little more emotional maturity to deal with his grief. Harry, on the other hand, spent less time being groomed for royal duties in the same way as William, the future king. During their mother’s funeral procession, William and Harry escorted her casket to the funeral service, as onlookers grieved and cried. In his adulthood, Harry said that walking behind his mother’s body was something that no child “should be asked to do.” Since both boys processed their grief differently, they may have had difficulty comforting each other.
At the time of Prince William’s marriage to Catherine Middleton on April 29, 2011, he and his brother appeared to have a wonderful relationship. By this time, Harry had grown into a handsome, but rebellious soldier. William, by contrast, seemed to settle into his royal future. Harry was content playing the third wheel to his brother’s new life, but soon expressed interest in making a match of his own. In 2016, he got his wish when he met American actress Meghan Markle on a blind date. The couple fell in love and were married in May 2018.
At first, it seemed as though each brother would get his happily ever after. However, the press began to speculate that there was tension between the brothers’ wives, stating that the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex were competitive towards each other. Soon after, it was reported that the brothers were also at odds. William is a father of three, has retired from military service, and is enmeshed in his royal responsibilities. Meanwhile, Harry and his bride are more comfortable doing philanthropic work and traveling to Africa with their infant son Archie than staying holed up in Buckingham Palace. The brothers are currently approaching life in very different ways, forcing them apart.
Prince William and Prince Harry have always had a complicated relationship. From their childhood, to their painful teen years, to their adulthood, these are two men who are very different personalities. In time, it’s likely that they will reconcile and will continue to be daily fixtures in each others lives. Until then, both men will need to content themselves with the families they’ve created and the strong foundation left to them by their mother and father.
More: Prince Harry & Duchess Meghan Want Another Baby By Next Year
Source: Reader’s Digest
