After Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in 2018, man royal fans hoped that the two would be close with Prince William and Kate Middleton. After all, William and Kate had maintained a close relationship with Harry before he was married.
Unfortunately, although they were dubbed “The Fab Four” by the media, the relationship between the two couples was always more than a little bit rocky. Even before Meghan married Harry, there were reports that she and Kate weren’t exactly the best of friends.
While that feud seems to have subsided in the wake of the birth of Harry and Meghan’s first child, there’s another feud that has lasted for years. Reporting from People suggests that William and Harry have been growing apart for years, largely because of how different the two of them are.
In part, that may be because William is set to inherit the throne, and Harry will always be second in line to his brother, which leaves him with fewer responsibilities.
“After the death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997, the two brothers were thrown together by the tragedy of their childhood,” royal historian Robert Lacey said. “But it’s inevitable, as they grow up and develop different personalities, that synchronicity won’t apply anymore.”
The marriages also helped to further the divide in a way that’s only natural. “As is often the case in any family, when one of your siblings gets married, there’s always a period of readjustment,” a source close to the family said.
For the most part, then, the distance that’s formed between these two couples is the natural result of building new families. It only makes sense that William and Harry would be closer when they were younger, and relied more on one another.
Now that they’re both married and have their own children, their focus has to be on their families. It’s possible that they may grow close again, but one person close to the royal family told People that we shouldn’t hold our breath.
“Just on a human level, if you take everything else out of the equation, I don’t think they’re in very good shape to deal with anything right now,” the source said. “Everyone is hoping that they will come back from this break stronger than ever, and maybe with some time out of the spotlight, they can figure out what path to take next.”
We’ll have to see whether that pans out, or whether they wind up furthering the distance that already exists between them.
