The tragedy of the broken brothers
Will William and Harry ever repair their relationship?
All other royal news was overshadowed this week, by the second part of the documentary Harry & Meghan, on Netflix. And with Harry’s allegations of William bullying, the conclusion from most royal watchers, is the bond between the brothers has irretrievably broken.
“The saddest part of it was this wedge created between me and my brother, so that he’s now on the institution’s side,” Prince Harry said, also attacking the Palace for being, “happy to lie to protect my brother.” “To see my brother’s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heart-breaking,” he said.
Kerry wrote an in-depth look at the brothers’ relationship over the years, for The Sunday Telegraph this week. Here’s an excerpt:
Harry described the Sandringham summit in 2020, where he proposed his blueprint for his and Meghan’s future. “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren’t true,” he said.
While the Prince of Wales has not responded, royal experts think it unlikely the brief rapprochement seen in September at the Queen’s funeral will be repeated. So, how did the pair, who have supported each other through so much, get to this point? “Like all the most destructive royal tales from Richard I to Edward VIII, sibling rivalry lies at its heart,” writes UK Telegraph royal correspondent Camilla Tominey.
Certainly, the pair has battled in the past – royal biographer Tina Brown says the brothers began to compete years before Harry met Meghan, over work. “Friction between the brothers escalated over their professional alignments. William knew he had to be respectful of hierarchy when it came to his father’s ownership of the environmental platform, but he was less willing to accede to his brother,” she writes, in The Palace Papers, describing the duo as having, “Olympic rows”. Harry felt William was “hogging the best briefs”.
William and Harry’s relationship has always been feisty, but up until now, loving. William was known for his fiery temper - when Camilla married Charles, she confided to friends she was surprised by William’s volatile outbursts – and Harry was infamous for his partying. Diana, Princess of Wales, wrote in one letter, “Harry is constantly in trouble,” at school. But post Diana’s death, William and Harry were simply there for each other. The loss of their mother, William said in 2018, made them, “uniquely bonded because of what we’ve been through”.
Their bond seemed unbreakable - in 2008, when Prince Harry was brought home from a tour of Afghanistan because his security had been compromised, William stopped the first interview, seeing his brother was upset. “It was the first time I realised, that I saw with my own eyes, the closeness of the relationship between the two brothers,” Miguel Head, who worked for the UK’s Ministry of Defence and later as the brothers’ press secretary, said. “It was simply a brother realising that at that point nothing was more important than his welfare.”
Welfare was central to the brothers’ working relationship – they launched The Royal Foundation in 2009 and Heads Together mental health campaign in 2016, both outspoken and honest about their emotional journeys.
But cracks began to appear when the “Awesome Foursome” appeared at the inaugural The Royal Foundation Forum in 2018 and admitted to having disagreements. “Working as family does have its challenges,” Harry said at the time. “But we’re stuck together for the rest of our lives so…”
Turns out they weren’t and by the time the pair made their Megxit in 2020, the brothers’ bond was broken. In the documentary, Harry concluded, “I’ve had to make peace with the fact that we’re probably never going to get genuine accountability or a genuine apology.”
Catherine’s cracking carol concert
Hours after the final three episodes of Harry & Meghan dropped on Netflix, the Princess of Wales lead the Royal Family in a show of unity, with many wearing conspicuously matching burgundy and cream outfits, at her second carol service at Westminster Abbey called Together At Christmas, dedicated to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The collaborative sartorial effort was possibly rebuking Meghan’s assertion, in an earlier episode of the docuseries, that she was advised by household staff not to wear the same colour as other senior royals. But, of course, it could also be a total coincidence.
Catherine wore a burgundy Eponine coat and matching Gianvito Rossi heels, alongside William, Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, looking adorable in a mini-mummy style burgundy coat by Trotters Heritage. Other royals attending were King Charles, Queen Camilla (in cream), Sophie Wessex (cream), Zara (burgundy) and Mike Tindall, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie with their husbands, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, as well as Carole (burgundy) and Michael Middleton and Pippa (yes, burgundy again) and husband James Matthews.
The service, organised by Catherine for 2,000 members of the public, was to recognise the “selfless efforts of individuals, families and communities across the UK, and celebrate and showcase the joy that human connection and togetherness can bring”.
The evening was also a celebration of the values the Queen demonstrated during her lifetime, such as “duty, empathy, faith, service, kindness, compassion and support for others”. William gave a reading quoting from his grandmother’s 2012 Christmas Speech: “At Christmas, I am always struck by how the spirit of togetherness lies also at the heart of the Christmas story,” he said. Poignantly, a Christmas tree in the Abbey was bedecked with Paddington Bear decorations.
Watch Royal Carols: Together At Christmas on ITV1 this Christmas Eve.
What the Windsors are doing for Christmas
They came together for Catherine’s carol concert, above, and the Royal Family will gather again at Sandringham for a traditional royal Christmas.
King Charles will broadcast his first speech as monarch, no doubt making reference to his mother. Her last speech was an emotional one, saying, “Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.” She was speaking of Prince Philip, but 12 months later, the family is facing their first Christmas without the Queen, which will mean it’s tinged with sadness.
The visit will be much shorter than the past, when the Queen would stay until February 6, the day of her father’s death. But it’s expected Charles will continue the traditions, as the Queen so loved. “It’s no surprise that families so often treasure their Christmas routines,” she said last year. “I see it in my own family and it is a source of great happiness.”
Yule got royal mail!
The Fab Five (aka the Waleses), the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the King and Queen Consort have released their Christmas cards this week.
William, Catherine, George, Charlotte and four-year-old Prince Louis were snapped on the Sandringham estate this summer. Harry and Meghan’s virtual card says, “Wishing you a joyful holiday season”. While Charles and Camilla’s card shows them at the Braemar Gathering, the highland games the late Queen loved so much and taken five days before she died.
And finally… Thank you Ma’am, for everything
Saying farewell to the Queen was the saddest part of 2022. While we’ll always miss her and her glorious smile, we are so grateful that Her Majesty gave us so many wonderful memories to treasure, especially this most recent one - with another much-loved national icon - that will evoke joy and laughter forever.