Amid news of the recent (and reportedly emotional) meeting between Prince Harry and his father, King Charles, a royal source has weighed in on the state of the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with two of his other estranged royal relatives, his brother, Prince William, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.
Speaking to Us Weekly, an unnamed royal insider revealed that things are, unfortunately, still strained between Harry and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“There is still ongoing tension with William and Kate,” the source said. “They are deeply hurt by the public disclosures, memoir revelations and interviews and criticisms of their roles, which they perceive as breaches of trust that require significant time to heal from, which is why they aren’t there yet.”
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And, although some royal fans had hoped that Harry might reconnect—and even possibly take steps toward reconciling—with Will and Kate during his recent trip to the U.K., the Us Weekly royal source also confirmed that no such meeting occurred, saying that the three royals’ schedules just were “not aligned while Harry was in London.”
“There has also been no direct communication between aides like there has been with Charles,” the source added. “William and Kate haven’t initiated or responded to outreach from Harry at all. They do need more time.”
As for why Harry wasn’t able to make a connection with Will and Kate during the trip like he was with his father, the source says that, after everything that’s happened to cause and intensify the estrangement, the Waleses just aren’t ready to meet with Harry in-person yet.
“There’s emotional distance between the three of them,” the source explained. “There are lingering resentments of past conflicts, including Harry’s comments about Kate in his book. It left William guarded and needing more time to process before a face-to-face with Harry.”
Before the now-infamous royal rift between Harry and many members of the royal family, he was notoriously close to both Will and Kate. Former royal butler Grant Harrold even went on-the-record about Harry, Will, and Kate’s relationship in his upcoming book, The Royal Butler: My Remarkable Life of Royal Service.
“They involved him,” Harrold, writes in the book, according to an excerpt published by The Telegraph in August. “He used to go out with Kate. William would be away, and Kate and Harry would be off doing stuff together.”
Royal fans looking forward to a reconciliation between the brothers have at least some cause for optimism, however. According to the Us Weekly source, there is still “hope” that Harry and Will might meet up during the upcoming holiday season.
“They will see how things pan out with what Charles and Harry discussed,” the source said. “One of the things was to keep his mouth shut and not talk to the press, and for Meghan to do the same. Once William and Kate can trust again, they may be able to come back into his life.”
