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  4. Prince Harry and Prince William's relationship has never been worse. These 9 photos show how their rift unfolded.

Prince Harry and Prince William's relationship has never been worse. These 9 photos show how their rift unfolded.

Prince Harry and Prince William's relationship has never been worse. These 9 photos show how their rift unfolded.
Prince William and Prince Harry attend an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey on April 25, 2018, in London, England.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
  • Prince Harry and Prince William have had a rift between them for years.
  • In his memoir, "Spare," Harry shared new details about their relationship.

Earlier this year, Prince Harry shared new details about his years-long rift with Prince William.

Earlier this year, Prince Harry shared new details about his years-long rift with Prince William.
Prince Harry and Prince William on the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018, in London, England.      Max Mumby/Getty Images

Prince Harry wrote about his relationship with his older brother in his memoir "Spare," which was released on January 10, and shared new details about their falling out in the book and in promotional interviews that month.

Speaking to ITV News at Ten presenter Tom Bradby on January 8, Harry said that William physically attacked him in 2019 and asked him not to tell Meghan Markle about it. In his memoir, Harry said that William described Meghan as "difficult" and "rude" during the incident, and that William was parroting the "duchess difficult" narrative spun by the press.

But there had been reports about the brothers' rift for years before Harry opened up, dating back to Harry and Meghan's royal wedding in 2018. Here are a handful of photos that hinted at their feud through the years, and others that were taken during a tumultuous period in the brothers' relationship which wasn't as apparent at the time.

Harry and William were never as close as the public believed them to be, which is evident when looking back at William's 2011 royal wedding.

Harry and William were never as close as the public believed them to be, which is evident when looking back at William
Prince William with Prince Harry outside Westminster Abbey before his royal wedding to Kate Middleton on April 29, 2011.      Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images

Writing in "Spare," Harry revealed that he wasn't William's best man at his wedding to Kate Middleton in 2011, contrary to what the public believed.

"The public had been told that I was to be best man, but that was a bare-faced lie. The public expected me to be best man, and thus the Palace saw no choice but to say that I was," Harry wrote.

William instead chose two friends, James Meade and Thomas Van Straubenzee, to be joint best men, according to Harry. The prince said another reason that William didn't tell the public was to insure his friends, who were not in the public eye, were able to avoid the media spotlight.

The brothers weren't as close as the public thought they were, and this is also apparent when reading about their relationship as children. In "Spare," Harry wrote that William didn't want anything to do with him when he joined the same boarding school, Eton College, as a young boy.

The brothers' relationship was tense during Harry's royal wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018.

The brothers
Prince Harry with Prince William before his royal wedding to Meghan Markle at St. George's Chapel on May 19, 2018.      Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Harry wrote that William also wasn't his best man at his 2018 wedding, but his friend Charlie was.

He added that he and his brother had been in an argument in the lead-up to the wedding because William was upset that Harry was allowed to keep his beard when he had been required to shave his off. Harry wrote that he had to ask permission from the Queen to not shave before his nuptials, and she gave her blessing.

Harry wrote about Meghan and William's awkward first meeting in "Spare," and it seems evident that the pair weren't close when looking at photos of their interactions in 2018.

Harry wrote about Meghan and William
Prince William greets Meghan Markle before an Anzac Day service at Westminster Abbey on April 25, 2018.      Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Harry wrote that William was "freaked out" and "recoiled" when Meghan tried to hug him when they first met in 2016. While Meghan was used to hugging strangers, William was used to more formal interactions, Harry wrote.

"Maybe Willy expected Meg to curtsey? It would have been protocol when meeting a member of the Royal Family for the first time, but she didn't know and I didn't tell her," Harry wrote.

In the years that followed, Meghan was a source of contention between the brothers, as William believed the "duchess difficult" narrative that had been spun by the press, Harry wrote.

This rare photo of William and Meghan sharing a kiss on the cheek before a service for Anzac Day in April 2018 is the only time they were photographed publicly embracing one another, and it certainly appeared to be a more formal greeting than the one Meghan originally gave William.

The "Fab Four" posed for photos on the Buckingham Palace balcony in July 2018, which was around the same time that their relationship was falling apart behind the scenes.

The "Fab Four" posed for photos on the Buckingham Palace balcony in July 2018, which was around the same time that their relationship was falling apart behind the scenes.
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton at Buckingham Palace on July 10, 2018.      Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Writing in "Spare," Harry described a "clear the air meeting" that he said took place between himself, Meghan, Kate, and William in June 2018 at Kate and William's home.

Harry wrote that during the meeting, William and Kate were upset because Harry and Meghan hadn't given them Easter gifts in April of that year, and he and Meghan were upset because William and Kate switched place cards and changed seats at their wedding that May, which they insisted wasn't them but someone else.

According to Harry, Kate then demanded an apology from Meghan because she had told her sister-in-law that she had "baby brain" during a phone call where Kate had forgotten something about wedding rehearsals. Kate told Meghan that "we're not close enough for you to talk about my hormones," while William pointed at Meghan and said: "It's not what's done here in Britain," according to Harry.

Both couples attended the same Remembrance event in London in November 2019, but they were seated far apart.

Both couples attended the same Remembrance event in London in November 2019, but they were seated far apart.
The royal family at a Remembrance Service at Royal Albert Hall in London in November 2019.      Chris Jackson/- WPA Pool/Getty Images

As Insider previously reported, the couples entered the venue separately and did not appear to interact at the event.

Harry and Meghan didn't speak with William and Kate at their final royal engagement at Westminster Abbey in March 2020.

Harry and Meghan didn
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle attend the Commonwealth Day Service 2020 on March 9, 2020, in London, England.      Phil Harris - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Awkward photos and video footage from the event showed that the couples entered the venues separately, and although they were seated just one row apart, they did not speak to each other.

Harry and William didn't walk side by side at Prince Philip's funeral on April 17, 2021.

Harry and William didn
Prince William, Peter Phillips, and Prince Harry at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral on April 17, 2021.      Samir Hussein/Getty Images

Harry and William's cousin, Peter Phillips, was placed between them during the funeral procession.

Harry wrote in "Spare" that he had a meeting with William and King Charles after the funeral, where he said both of them seemed confused and unwilling to comprehend why he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties the previous year.

The funeral took place shortly after Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, where they spoke about their fractured relationship with the royal family and said that an unnamed royal had "concerns and conversations" about their son Archie's skin tone before he was born. Days after the interview aired, Buckingham Palace said the issues raised were concerning and would be "addressed by the family privately."

The brothers were most recently photographed walking together at the Queen's funeral in September, but their relationship seems to be far from repaired.

The brothers were most recently photographed walking together at the Queen
Prince Harry and Prince William follow the hearse with the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II moving towards St. George's Chapel on September 19, 2022, in Windsor, England.      Jon Super - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Harry and William were reunited at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September. They walked together in the funeral procession, and during his interview with Tom Bradby in January, Harry said they both joked that they "knew the way," because it was the same procession they had walked as young boys at the funeral of their mother, Princess Diana.

The brothers weren't seated together at the funeral and Harry and Meghan flew back to California the day after the ceremony, Page Six reported at the time.

The royal family has not publicly commented on his memoir, but Harry seemed to confirm that he and William were not on speaking terms during his interview with Bradby.

"I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back," Harry said, adding that his family hadn't shown any effort to reconcile.


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