Prince Harry’s recent visit to see his father, King Charles III, did not result in a reconciliation with his estranged brother, Prince William. Despite flying over 5,000 miles to be with their father after his cancer diagnosis, Harry did not have the opportunity to meet with William during his brief 24-hour visit. This visit further underscores the emotional and physical distance between the royal siblings.
Photographs of Harry at Heathrow Airport surfaced in the British media, indicating his return to California just a day after arriving in the UK from Los Angeles. While Harry spent less than an hour with his father at Clarence House, the king’s London residence, there was no confirmation of a meeting between the brothers, usually disclosed by palace officials.
In contrast, William resumed his public duties after his wife, Kate, underwent abdominal surgery and spent nearly two weeks at a London clinic. William attended a ceremony at Windsor Castle, where he presented medals to notable individuals and local heroes. Later in the evening, he was scheduled to attend a charity dinner for London’s air ambulance service.
The media’s portrayal of the royal brothers continually reinforces established British tropes: dutiful William versus the free-spirited Harry. However, behind these simplistic narratives lie two royal siblings who have diverged significantly.
William, as the heir, was always destined to assume the role of king, while Harry, fifth in line to the throne, has struggled with his more ambiguous position of being the spare. In his memoir titled Spare, published in 2023, Harry detailed a lifetime of grievances with his brother, including disputes over bedroom sizes at Balmoral Castle and a heated argument resulting in William allegedly ripping Harry’s necklace and knocking him onto a dog bowl.
Harry’s memoir also addressed perceived differences in how the British media treated him and his wife, Meghan, compared to the favorable treatment of William and Kate. Additionally, Harry accused palace officials of lying to protect his elder brother. The couple cited racist media treatment of Meghan, who is biracial, and a lack of support from the palace as reasons for their decision to step back from royal duties in 2020 and relocate to the US.
In a highly publicized interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry and Meghan depicted the royal family as unsympathetic to Meghan’s mental health struggles. They alleged that an unnamed member of the family made a racist comment prior to the birth of their son, Archie. Speaking of his relationship with William, Harry stated that there was space at the moment.
Since then, the brothers’ interactions have been formal and brief. They put their strained relationship aside temporarily to attend the funerals of their grandfather, Prince Philip, and their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. However, they were not seen walking side-by-side during these events. Harry also traveled to the UK in May 2022 for his father’s coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey, where he sat two rows behind William, arriving and leaving alone without any visible interaction.
Apart from familial tensions, Harry’s campaign against the British tabloid press has further strained his relationship with his relatives. Breaking from royal tradition, he filed several lawsuits against news media outlets for privacy violations and phone hacking. Harry alleged that Charles, his father, instructed palace staff to pressure him into dropping the lawsuits because they were detrimental to the family. He also claimed that William secretly settled his own hacking claims against Rupert Murdoch’s publications for a significant sum in 2020.
Biographer Sally Bedell Smith suggests that healing the rifts within the royal family will require more than a single visit. While King Charles may hold a desire to heal the family, the deep hurts Harry has caused will not be easily mended.
In conclusion, Prince Harry’s recent visit to see his father did not bring about a reconciliation with his brother, Prince William. The rift between the royal siblings remains significant and unresolved, highlighting the emotional and physical distance between them. The complexities and grievances detailed in Harry’s memoir, coupled with ongoing tensions within the royal family, suggest that healing will require more than a mere visit.
