Prince William and Prince Harry have always been in the public eye, and while millions may have grieved for their mother alongside them, few could truly understand what the brothers were going through when Princess Diana died. The two brothers stayed close as they grew up, although there seems to have been something of a rift in recent years. Regardless, the two put any differences aside when their father, Prince Charles, tested positive for COVID-19 in 2020. From their childhood antics to Harry's time in the military, let's take a look at the truth about Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship.
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00:00Prince William and Prince Harry are two of the world's most famous brothers. Growing up,
00:04they were very close, with few others able to understand their fishbowl existence.
00:10Sadly, as they matured, they endured a very public rift.
00:13Here's the truth about Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship.
00:18Growing up, Prince William and Prince Harry split their time between royal residences,
00:22with nannies, housekeepers, and chefs at their disposal. One former royal chef,
00:26Carolyn Robb, who wrote the cookbook The Royal Touch about her time working for the family,
00:31discussed the brothers' childhood hijinks with Yahoo! Style. She reminisced about her time
00:37with the family, explaining that they would often join her as she worked. Robb said,
00:42When William and Harry were small, they loved to come into the kitchen. Being an old palace
00:46with wooden floorboards, you could usually hear them running around upstairs. William and Harry
00:51would reportedly fly in and out of the kitchen and hide from their nannies in the cupboards,
00:55the chef added. We fortunately had some quite low-down cupboards so we could hide Harry,
01:00except usually his giggling gave him away.
01:04Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine and author of more than 20 books on the British
01:09royal family, revealed details about the differences between the way young Prince
01:13Harry was treated on the Channel 4 documentary Meghan and Harry, The Baby Years. Seward said that
01:20Princess Diana was mindful of Prince Harry's place in the pecking order and was, quote,
01:24very anxious about her second-born possibly feeling second-best next to his older brother,
01:29the future heir. By contrast, the Queen Mother would occasionally play favorites,
01:33according to Seward, who explained,
01:36The Queen Mother used to say,
01:37"'Come on, William, come and sit next to me.'" And little Harry would be completely left out.
01:42Of course, it wasn't all bad for Harry. When the Queen Mother passed away, she left in the bulk of
01:47her estate, according to BBC News, since William would already be set when he became king.
01:53Another royal chef, Darren McGrady, told OK! magazine,
01:57William and Harry both had very fun childhoods. Aware of the pressures that would face the boys,
02:02Diana let them enjoy being kids, which led to the brothers visiting exciting places like
02:07Walt Disney World. As a result, McGrady revealed that young Prince William and Prince Harry were
02:12quite close and described their relationship as fantastic. While McGrady prepared the royal meals,
02:18the brothers were, in his words,
02:20"...frequently running into the kitchen,
02:22trying to help me make mummy's dinner because they wanted to be involved."
02:26Speaking with Delish, McGrady also shared what Princess Diana really thought of the
02:30brothers' personalities. Diana reportedly said,
02:33William's deep like his father, and Harry is just an airhead like me.
02:38Considering the fact that Harry has devoted his life to charitable endeavors and encourages
02:43empathy and kindness, it's safe to say Diana would find Harry suitably deep nowadays, too.
02:49In 2007, Prince William and Prince Harry sat down with Matt Lauer for an illuminating
02:54interview for The Today Show. Not only did the interview show the close relationship
02:58between the brothers, with both teasing each other, but it revealed that William
03:02was worried about Harry while he was in the military. When asked about his feelings,
03:07William replied,
03:08"...of course I worry, but I've got full confidence in what he does,
03:12and he knows what he's doing, and he's very good at what his job is."
03:16"...and also I've got full confidence that, you know, that if things do get out of hand,
03:20that, you know, that measures will be taken to make sure that no one else is hurt."
03:24The interview also hinted at a bit of jealousy on William's part toward Harry because of the
03:29younger brother's ability to see combat. When Lauer asked William if he would be able to see
03:34combat action himself as an air ambulance pilot, William said,
03:38"...I live every day that I might hope to get to do what he does,
03:41because otherwise, what's the point of my training?"
03:44When imagining royal brothers, it's easy to picture them communicating entirely through
03:49white-gloved staff. But the reality is very different. When Prince William and Prince
03:53Harry sat down for their 2007 Today Show interview, they revealed that they're just
03:58like everybody else — for the most part. When Lauer disbelievingly asked if they communicated
04:03via text and email, Harry cracked,
04:05"...we are slightly normal. We contact each other the normal way — text message,
04:09phone calls."
04:10And William agreed, noting,
04:12"...usually he's left something at home and I have to bring it for him."
04:16When Lauer asked if William could be called, quote,
04:18"...studious, thoughtful, dutiful, and proper," Harry jokingly replied,
04:23"...I'm sure that's fantastic that the American people think that of William.
04:27As long as we want to be fools, we can."
04:29The brothers' easy rapport is equal parts heartwarming and hilarious.
04:34What are your impressions of the U.S.?
04:36Horrible. You know that's the headline. Harry calls U.S. horrible.
04:43Prince William's 2011 wedding to Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey was the true stuff of
04:48fairy tales, watched by a reported two billion people around the globe, according to The
04:52Telegraph. The bond between the brothers was evident as Prince Harry, the best man, turned
04:57to William when Kate began to walk down the aisle and, according to Us Weekly, whispered,
05:02"...wait till you see her."
05:03Later that night, as guests celebrated during the evening wedding reception at Buckingham
05:08Palace, Harry publicly cemented their remarkable bond by reportedly calling William, quote,
05:12"...the perfect brother," during his wedding speech, according to the Daily Mail. His gushing
05:17extended beyond brother, as Harry also said he thought of Duchess Kate, quote, "...like a sister."
05:23During his speech, Harry also couldn't resist some gentle jabs,
05:26reportedly saying of his brother at the reception,
05:29"...William didn't have a romantic bone in his body before he met Kate,
05:32so I knew it was serious when William suddenly started cooing down the phone at Kate."
05:38Few people have had to endure public scrutiny while grieving as Prince William and Prince
05:42Harry did. Losing their mother in the spotlight bonded them forever, according to Diana's
05:47biographer, Andrew Morton, in Royals Monthly. Morton explained,
05:52"...their relationship is incredibly intimate. Nobody, apart from each other, knows exactly,
05:57not even their father, what's gone on in their heads and their hearts for the last 20-odd years."
06:02The loss of their mother meant that they could only truly let their
06:05guards down in front of each other, an experience that bonded them for life.
06:10According to Us Weekly, when Harry gave a speech on the 10th anniversary of their mother's death,
06:14he revealed that he and William can, quote, "...separate life into two parts,
06:18the years with their mother and the years after."
06:21Citing his mother's unfaltering love, he went on to say,
06:25"...she was our guardian, friend, and protector.
06:28Behind the media glare to us, two children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world."
06:35Prince William and Kate Middleton have spearheaded their Heads Together campaign,
06:39championing mental health, something Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were involved in
06:43through the Royal Foundation, according to BBC News. It's no wonder mental health
06:47counseling is near and dear to Harry's heart, as he required counseling himself
06:52while struggling with depression. In 2017, while speaking to The Telegraph,
06:56Harry shared that he had shut down his emotions, quote,
06:59"...for almost two decades and had relied heavily on William."
07:03He added,
07:03"...my brother, you know, bless him, he was a huge support to me. He kept saying,
07:08this is not right, this is not normal, you need to talk to someone about stuff. It's okay."
07:13"...it's okay to suffer, but as long as you talk about it,
07:16you know, it's not weakness. Weakness is having a problem and not recognizing it."
07:20Thankfully, William was there to help get Harry back on his feet,
07:24and now that Harry is married to Meghan, who prioritizes emotional well-being,
07:28the prince has another positive influence in his life.
07:32With an age gap of a little over two years, Prince William and Prince Harry were raised
07:36very closely, with Princess Diana going out of her way to provide a normal life for them. However,
07:41just like regular non-royal brothers all over the world, their closeness
07:45also lent itself to a healthy sibling rivalry.
07:48Royal biographer Andrew Morton revealed in an issue of Royals Monthly,
07:52"...they're very, very close. They're also very competitive, and always have been."
07:57In a piece for The Cut, former boarding school classmates revealed some surprising details about
08:02the boys. Popular Prince William was, quote, "...like a homecoming king type," but according
08:07to one classmate, Harry was not like his brother in that way. The source said,
08:11"...I think Harry probably had it harder finding his way."
08:14According to the book William & Harry, Harry went on to earn more of a class clown reputation.
08:20Growing up as the younger brother with William's role as heir to the throne also reportedly took
08:25an emotional toll on Harry. Speaking to Us Weekly in 2019, a royal insider said,
08:30"...there's always been a part of Harry that felt like he was living in his brother's shadow."
08:35It's possible that reported uneasiness and slight jealousy on Harry's part
08:39may have influenced the brothers' rift later on. The source shared,
08:43"...he doesn't envy the responsibility that comes with being the future king of England,
08:47but William's the golden boy, and Harry feels like he has a lot to live up to."
08:53Ever since the tragic passing of Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry have turned to
08:57each other for comfort and support through times both good and bad. An anonymous source told The
09:03Times,
09:03"...the brothers have leaned on each other and looked after each other since their mother died."
09:08However, after starting their families, the distance led them to stop relying on each
09:12other so heavily. The insider added,
09:15"...they have become different people with different outlooks on life."
09:18When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to form their own household,
09:22first leaving Kensington Palace for Frogmore Cottage at Windsor,
09:26and then forming their own office at Buckingham Palace, speculation swirled. However,
09:30the move was described as long-planned by official sources, according to Town & Country.
09:36A statement from the queen's office pointed to Harry and Meghan's then-impending move to Windsor,
09:41saying,
09:41"...this long-planned move will ensure that permanent support arrangements for the Duke
09:45and Duchess' work are in place as they start their family and move to their
09:49official residence at Frogmore Cottage."
09:52According to The Sun, a royal source explained Harry and Meghan's decision to move from
09:57Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage, saying,
10:00"...the initial plan was for Harry and Meghan to move out of their cottage in the grounds
10:04of Kensington Palace and into one of the main apartments, but there has been a bit of tension
10:09between the brothers."
10:10Vanity Fair reported that royal biographer Katie Nicholl claimed that the falling out
10:15between Prince William and Prince Harry initially started when the younger brother felt slighted by
10:20his older sibling, feeling that he wasn't properly welcoming to Meghan in the early
10:24days of their relationship. Nicholl said,
10:27"...Harry felt William wasn't rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so.
10:31They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in
10:35and asked William to make an effort."
10:37Meanwhile, in Prince Harry's ITV documentary chronicling his 10-day royal visit to South
10:43Africa with Meghan in 2019, called Harry and Meghan, An African Journey,
10:47the duke confirmed the rift, saying,
10:50"...we're certainly on different paths at the moment."
10:52"'Cause brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days."
10:58Royal reporters have feverishly speculated about the true reasons behind the rumored
11:03royal rift between Prince William and Prince Harry, since the brothers had always been so close.
11:08Regardless of the issues between them,
11:10the brothers fortunately resumed contact after Prince Charles fell ill with COVID-19.
11:15Royal reporter Katie Nicholl revealed,
11:18"...they have done video calls together, they have done a lot of family birthdays,
11:22and I think with Prince Charles not being well,
11:24that really forced the brothers to pick up the phone and get back in touch."
11:28In the documentary Harry and Meghan, An African Journey,
11:31Harry spoke candidly about the ups and downs of his relationship with William, saying,
11:35"...we're brothers, we'll always be brothers."
11:38Harry confirmed that regardless of their different paths, their bond would endure.
11:42He went on to say,
11:43"...I'll always be there for him and, as I know, he'll always be there for me.
11:48We don't see each other as much as we used to because we're so busy but I love him dearly."
11:53No doubt Princess Diana would be proud of the relationship her sons have maintained.