Prince William and Prince Harry are in the midst of a years-long royal rift, and it seems the two brothers have no plans of making up anytime soon. With not one but two family cancer diagnoses, a slew of tell-all reporting from royal experts, and a few bombshell documentaries, there has been no shortage of drama, both real and manufactured.
It all started with Prince Harry’s romance with Meghan Markle, the former Suits actress turned Duchess of Sussex. After dating for a year, the pair had a multi-million dollar wedding in St. George’s Chapel in 2018. Relations continued to deteriorate from there. Years later, after departing from royal duties and relocating to the United States, Prince Harry demanded an apology from the monarchy:
“You know what you did, and I now know why you did it,” he said in an interview with The Telegraph. “And you’ve been caught out, so just come clean.”
But what, exactly, did Prince William and his family do? And why does the royal rift continue? Read the full timeline of Prince William and Prince Harry’s feud below.
November 2018: Prince William refuses to “roll out the red carpet” for Meghan Markle.
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first got together, UK tabloids immediately pitted her against her future sister-in-law, Kate Middleton. To be fair, the allegations of a frosty relationship weren’t totally inaccurate, but at the time, it was actually Prince Harry and Prince William who had beef. According to royals reporter Katie Nicholl, Prince Harry was angry that his brother did not “roll out the red carpet” for his new wife, whom he married in May.
February 2019: The trailer for ‘Kate v. Meghan: Princesses at War’ drops.
Unsurprisingly, the documentary was full of family drama—especially as it related to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s love life. Reporter Katie Nicholl set the scene in the doc: “William was quite concerned that the relationship had moved so quickly. And being close to Harry, probably the only person close enough to say to Harry, This seems to be moving quickly, are you sure?’”
Following that, a second reporter, Emily Andrews, described Prince Harry’s response: Harry “went ballistic and said, ‘You’re trying to wreck this relationship before it’s even started.’”
May 2019: Prince William and Kate Middleton visit Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Frogmore Cottage.
Shortly after Meghan Markle gave birth to son Archie, Prince William and Kate Middleton paid the new parents a celebratory visit at Frogmore Cottage. “I’m very pleased to welcome my own brother to the sleep deprivation society that is parenting!” Prince William joked.
June 2019: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle split from their joint charity with Prince William and Kate Middleton.
One month after the birth of their first son, Archie, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle parted ways with Prince William and Kate Middleton from their joint charity, The Royal Foundation.
July 2019: Prince William and Kate Middleton attend baby Archie’s christening.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first child, Prince Archie of Sussex, was christened in a small private ceremony at Queen Elizabeth’s private chapel at Windsor Castle. The day was only slightly soured by Prince William’s slightly sour facial expression and the fact that, according to US Weekly, he was unhappy the whole event was kept private: “William thinks his brother is going overboard keeping Archie out of the spotlight” and he “blames Meghan.”
October 2019: Prince Harry admits to feuding with Prince William.
In an ITV documentary that chronicled the couple’s visit to Africa, Prince Harry confirmed that “stuff” had happened between him and his brother: “Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens,” he said. “But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”
November 2019: Things between Prince Harry and Prince William are “not great.”
For son Archie’s first Christmas, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry opted out of the big royal holiday, making plans instead to spend it with Markle’s mom, Doria Ragland. This, after an US Weekly article revealed that things between the two brothers were “not great.”
January 2020: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their departure from the royal family.
As soon as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their plans to step down as working royals, rumors started flying about the supposed family feud. Apparently Prince William was “blindsided” by the decision, according to Us Weekly. The two brothers eventually released a joint statement to set the record straight:
“Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between The Duke of Sussex and The Duke of Cambridge. For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”
March 2020: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle make one last appearance as working royals.
In a final public appearance as working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle joined Prince William and Kate Middleton at the Commonwealth Day Service. It was the first time the two couples had been seen together in months. Soon after, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex relocated to Los Angeles.
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June 2020: Another book about the royal feud drops.
Co-written by reporters Omid Scobie (who would later author Endgame) and Carol Durand, Finding Freedom: offered new details into the growing feud between Prince William and Prince Harry. The book chronicles the marriage of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, with contributions from Meghan Markle via a third-party source.
September 2020: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sign a deal with Netflix.
After moving to the States in June, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared ready to air their grievances, starting with a multi-million dollar contract with Netflix. The Firm is, unsurprisingly, displeased at the idea of more dirty laundry coming to light. Meanwhile, an excerpt from Robert Lacey’s book Battle of Brothers revealed that Prince William enlisted the help of Princess Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer, in a last-ditch effort to intervene in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s romance.
“The result of the Spencer intervention was an even more bitter explosion,” the excerpt read. “Once again, Harry refused to slow down. He didn’t blame his uncle. He understood why Diana’s brother should want to help. Yet he was furious with his elder brother for dragging other family members into the row. The fraternal fissure became established. There would be patch-ups and reconciliations, especially when a public show of unity was required. But that anger and mistrust—that distance—has lasted to the present day.”
October 2020: Book excerpt reveals Prince William and Prince Harry’s “showdown” over Meghan Markle’s ‘Vogue’ cover.
Back in July of 2019, Meghan Markle guest edited the September issue of British Vogue, which she named the “Forces of Change” issue alongside editor-in-chief Edward Enninful. Now, over a year later, another excerpt from Robert Lacey’s book Battle of the Brothers confirmed that Prince William was none too happy about it.
According to Lacey, who spoke with The Mirror, the two brothers had a “showdown”: “[it was] another classic Harry explosion, followed by a further, even deeper rift.”
November 2020: Prince Harry is denied a wreath on Remembrance Day.
Following his departure from official royal duties, Prince Harry’s request to carry a wreath of roses at the national memorial for fallen soldiers was denied, as reported by People. Neither he nor Buckingham Palace offered comment on the decision.
March 2021: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get candid with Oprah.
In a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey on CBC News, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex got real about what life was like as working royals. As we now know, it wasn’t pretty. When asked about his brother Prince Harry said they were both taking “space.”
“As I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been to hell together. But we’re on different paths.”
Prince William weighed in after the interview to confirm that the royal family is “very much not a racist family.”
April 2021: Tensions run high at Prince Philip’s funeral.
Prince Philip was laid to rest in a small, family-only ceremony that included both Prince William and Prince Harry, his grandsons. The funeral came just one month after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“Truth be told, Harry didn’t really know what to expect before he came home, which is why he reached out before seeing everyone,” said a source in The Mirror. “He wrote a deeply personal note to his dad to try and set things straight but tensions are still running high and things haven’t exactly ironed out the way he had hoped.”
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July 2021: Prince Harry and Prince William reunite for the unveiling of the Princess Diana statue.
On what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday, Prince William and Prince Harry came together to honor their late mother with a statue unveiling ceremony at Kensington Palace.
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January 2022: Penguin Books breaks the news of Prince Harry’s upcoming memoir.
Following a reportedly frosty fall between Prince Harry and his brother, the former announced that he is finally ready to spill the tea about all that family drama (or at least, some of it).
June 2022: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Platinum Jubilee.
It wasn’t exactly a joyous family reunion, though: Prince Harry and Markle were only seen at two events over the weekend, and quietly returned home to California after paying their respects to the Queen.
September 2022: Meghan Markle tells all on ‘The Cut.’
After stepping back from royal duties, Meghan Markle basically broke the internet with a cover story and interview on The Cut. The royals, obviously, were not pleased. According to Entertainment Tonight, “the royal family is disappointed by Meghan Markle’s latest comments in The Cut magazine and on her podcast. They are distressed that after stepping back from the royal family—claiming a need for privacy—she continues to publicize family matters in public.”
December 2022: ‘Harry & Meghan’ comes out on Netflix.
In a new two-part documentary simply titled Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chronicled their love story after having met on a blind date in 2016. Prince Harry described himself in direct contrast to his father and his brother: “For so many people in the family, especially obviously the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold as opposed to somebody who you are perhaps destined to be with. The difference between making decisions with your head or your heart. My mom certainly made most of her decisions, if not all of them, from her heart, and I am my mother’s son.”
January 2023: Prince Harry drops ‘Spare.’
On January 10, the wait for Prince Harry’s highly anticipated memoir was finally over. Spare was damning, even if it did leave out some tea, and much of the drama described in the book centered on Harry’s brother, Prince William. Needless to say, their relationship deteriorated even further after the book’s release.
January 2023: The royal family entertains coronation “peace talks” with Prince Harry.
Amid a flurry of preparations for the coronation of King Charles III, Prince Harry reportedly flew back to the UK to try and make amends before the big event, which just so happened to fall on his son Archie’s birthday. According to The Sun, “One source believes the relationships are ‘fixable’ but are ‘going to take flexibility on all sides.’”
June 2023: A painting of the two brothers is removed from the National Portrait Gallery.
A 2010 portrait painted by Nicky Philipps was reportedly removed from the National Portrait Gallery in London, according to The Times. In the context of their years-long feud, the news, although sad, didn’t exactly come as a shock to the public.
November 2023: “There’s no going back” for Prince Harry and Prince William.
In his new tell-all book Endgame, royal reporter Omid Scobie chronicled the feud between Prince Harry and Prince William, offering no hope for the future of their relationship. “There’s no going back,” he told People. “In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the crown. His freedom to exert his own thinking outside of the confines of the institution has made him the enemy.”
That wasn’t the only bomb Scobie dropped in Endgame: he also revealed that it was Princess Anne who “persuaded Charles” to evict the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage, and what’s more, that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have had “almost zero direct communication” for four years.
February 2024: Prince William doesn’t want his brother’s help with royal duties.
Following the news of King Charles’ cancer diagnosis, Prince Harry offered a helping hand to the royal family. But while King Charles is eager to help repair the rift between his two sons, Prince William had zero interest.
“Harry is very concerned about his father’s health,” The King author Christopher Andersen told Fox News. “If it were up to Harry, he would almost certainly pitch in, even if it meant keeping an arm’s length away from William, who is still simmering with rage over Harry’s conduct.”
February 2024: Prince William is “jealous” Prince Harry’s Invictus Games success.
After a new documentary about Prince Harry and the Invictus Games dropped on Hulu, some viewers noticed a lack of enthusiasm from his older brother. Titled Prince Harry’s Mission: Life, Family, and Invictus Games, the doc is based on a number of interviews he did with ABC News while in Whistler, Canada.
At one point in the special, journalist Robert Jobson reveals that Prince William was “surprised” by the success of the games; “I think there was a degree of jealousy about how well it had gone,” Jobson said. “I do think that William was surprised how much this had been such a success and how much money was being thrown into it and how many governments were getting involved.”
March 2024: Prince William declines a visit from Prince Harry in London.
On a visit to London to see his father, King Charles, Prince Harry reached out to his brother to make plans. Unfortunately, Prince William wasn’t interested in a reunion (and neither was his wife): “It would be the normal run of things to go and see your sister-in-law who’s had a serious operation and also see your niece and nephews,” a royal source told People. “But it isn’t normal. It’s terribly sad.”
May 2024: Prince William is “furious” over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trip to Nigeria.
After the couple’s three-day trip to Nigeria, which featured a packed itinerary of royal appointments, Prince William and King Charles are apparently furious. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s visit bore a suspicious resemblance to an official royal visit, royal reporter Tom Quinn told The Mirror: “William is absolutely furious and determined to find a way to stop this happening in [the] future,” he said. “Charles is said to be angrier than anyone has ever seen him.”
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June 2024: Prince Harry avoids the “society wedding of the year.”
Though the two are apparently close friends, Prince Harry decided not to attend the wedding of the Duke of Westminster who tied the knot with Olivia Henson over the weekend. Heralded as the “society wedding of the year,” it was apparently impossible for Harry to attend alongside his brother, who served as an usher.
June 2024: Relations are at an “all-time low.”
The ongoing feud between Prince William and Prince Harry appears to have reached a boiling point. In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, royal expert Katie Nicholl explained the state of affairs between the two brothers: “Relations between the Sussexes and the Wales remains at an all-time low,” she said. “I’m told that William and Harry really are not even on speaking terms.”
August 2024: Prince William and Prince Harry’s cousins attempt to “initiate peace.”
As the stand-off between the brothers continued, two new family members entered the peace negotiations: Princess Beatrice and Zara Tindall. The two women are cousins of William and Harry, and both appear to be in a good position to help the brothers make amends, especially since Beatrice was close with the late Queen.
“Beatrice could act as a peacemaker for Harry, William, and Charles,” King Charles’s former royal butler Grant Harrold told Express. “She would be someone to initiate peace in the family. She’s close to both William and Harry, as well as the King—and they trust her.”
The hope is that a reconciliation would bring a new generation of cousins—that is, the children of Prince William and Prince Harry—back together again, as well as improve the reputation of the entire family.
“Beatrice and Zara both want the royal family to be seen in the best possible light,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News. “Both have strong values and common sense. They are out of the maelstrom of William and Harry and are good at building bridges and calming situations. This could be an effective force in…finding a way forward with Meghan [Markle] and the children.”
August 2024: Prince William throws another punch in “the beard wars.”
In a video posted to congratulate the Team Great Britain athletes for their participation in the Paris Olympics, Prince William sported an accessory he has not donned since 2008: facial hair. The move was immediately interpreted as a signal to Prince Harry, who had to request special permission to keep his beard for his wedding to Meghan Markle, given that beards are not typically allowed in the military (Harry wore his Army uniform for the event).
“It was a slight surprise to see William do a public video with the beard,” a source told The Daily Beast. “It’s an unexpected new installment of the beard wars.”
Prince Harry first detailed the extent of the war over his wedding facial hair in his memoir Spare, where he wrote that his brother “bristled” at the idea of Prince Harry seeking special treatment from the Queen and “at one point he actually ordered me, as the Heir speaking to the Spare, to shave.” The truth, Prince Harry wrote, was simple: “He hated the idea of me enjoying a perk he’d been denied.”
August 2024: A royal expert reveals the actual origin story of the rift.
While the feud between Prince William and Prince Harry is rooted in real-time disagreements, royal expert Tom Quinn told The Mirror that the rift actually goes back much further than Prince Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle. The true cause? King Charles’s apparent favoritism toward his eldest son, Prince William.
“Harry’s real beef is that he is convinced Charles always preferred William anyway and not just because William is the heir,” Quinn told the outlet. “Harry’s difficulties when he was a teenager and his increasing volatility as an adult terrified Charles who turned to the far more stable, risk-free William. Charles increasingly saw William as a safe pair of hands and Harry as too emotionally unstable. Deep down, Harry knows this and he deeply resents it.”
August 2024: Prince William and Prince Harry ignore each other at their uncle’s funeral.
In a rare return visit to the U.K., Prince Harry joined his brother Prince William for the funeral of their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, who was Princess Diana’s brother-in-law. Despite the fact that the pair did not speak, Diana’s family saw a silver lining:
“It was probably always going to be a funeral that brought the boys together under one roof, and the fact that William didn’t boycott it because Harry was going to be there has cast a glimmer of hope in an otherwise deeply depressing impasse,” a friend of the Spencer family said. “It’s a mature, promising sign that their private disagreements are not going be allowed to overshadow important family events.”
September 2024: Prince William wishes Prince Harry a happy birthday.
Prince Harry celebrated his 40th birthday on September 15 with unexpected well wishes from three family members across the pond: King Charles, Prince William, and Princess Kate. “🎂 Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today!” King Charles wrote on X and Instagram. The Prince and Princess of Wales then reshared the message with their own addition, “Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to the Duke of Sussex.”
It’s unclear whether the birthday wishes came from the heart or simply because of a milestone birthday rule set in place by the late Queen. Regardless, royal expert Ingrid Seward believes the communication was a step in the right direction.
“King Charles would have celebrated his son’s 40th from a distance. Milestone birthdays are important to the royals. Whatever upsets Harry has caused would have been forgotten for the day,” Seward told the Mirror. “Even Prince William wished his brother happy birthday—even if it was through clenched teeth. He doesn’t trust him, but together with his family, he wished him the best on his milestone birthday.”
September, 2024: Prince Harry changes his official residence.
Prince Harry’s departure from U.K. in 2020 had a new note of finality at the end of September when the Duke of Sussex submitted paperwork pertaining to his travel company, Travalyst. The forms officially switched his formal residence from the U.K. to the U.S., seemingly putting an end to rumors that the Duke may have been eyeing a return to the U.K. What’s more, the forms dated the end of Prince Harry’s U.K. residency to June 29, 2023—which was, of course, the day of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s now infamous eviction from Frogmore Cottage.
“As always with Harry a lot can be read into his actions. Being ousted from Frogmore Cottage wounded him deeply,” Royal commentator Phil Dampier told the Mirror. “Charles and William knew it had to be done to emphasize Harry and Meghan were outside The Firm but he probably still thought he could keep a base here. Now he’s shown he accepts his life is in the U.S.”
October 2024: Prince William finally mentions Prince Harry by name.
After going years without so much as a public acknowledgment, Prince William finally said Harry’s name out loud. The occasion? A promotional clip from his new documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness. In the clip, William recounts a childhood trip to a U.K. charity called The Passage, which he became a patron of himself in 2019.
“My mother took me to The Passage,” he said. “She took Harry and I both there. I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10. I had never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious about what to expect. I remember having some good conversations, playing chess, chatting and that’s when it dawned on me that there were other people out there who don’t have the same life as you do.”
November 2024: King Charles remains hesitant to repair his relationship with Prince Harry.
Though previous reports indicated that King Charles and Prince Harry’s relationship was “headed in the right direction,” new analysis of the apparent legal risk of reconciliation seem to have put those peace talks on ice. According to The Telegraph, King Charles is scared of the legal jeopardy that could ensue if their conversations were to become public, given that Prince Harry is still in the midst of a lawsuit to reinstate his police security in the U.K.
“Here you have the infelicitous situation where the King’s son is suing the King’s ministers in the King’s courts. That is pulling the King in three directions,” royal biographer Robert Hardman said. “You also have the situation where the King’s son publishes accounts of private conversations, some of which have been, shall we say, wrong.”
The second worry, referenced above, is that Prince Harry could potentially misquote the King in court or in legal documents, as he did when he “misremembered” details in his book, Spare.
“So imagine the situation if the prince were to talk to his father about his court case and then later to describe that conversation—or, worse, a conversation which was not entirely accurate,” Hardman continued. “There would be serious legal jeopardy. Harry would only have to say, ‘My father said this’ and a court case could collapse.”
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