'Awful tragedy' only way to heal royal rift says expert

The rift between brothers Prince William and Prince Harry will only be healed if they suffer an ‘awful tragedy,’ claims a royal expert.

Editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, has deemed the relationship between the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex ‘broken’ and unlikely to be mended.

“I rather doubt that they will ever get back to how they used to be. I really don't think so,” she said on the Mirror’s ‘Pod Save The Queen’ podcast.

“I think that's probably a broken relationship.”

Seward went on to speculate that only an ‘awful tragedy’ such as one of the brothers divorcing their wife would serve to bridge the gap.

“I think perhaps if something happened to Catherine or Meghan, the boys would be together again. But as long as their ladies are there and their families are there...

“If there was an awful tragedy it would bring them together, but otherwise I don't think that relationship will be mended. But that is a really personal point of view and I might not be right.”

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Battle of Brothers

Robert Lacey, who is a historical consultant on Netflix’s The Crown, said the current global situation has made it much harder for the brothers to even attempt some form of reconciliation.

“Social distancing and COVID has made the whole thing much worse.

“Even though they [Harry and Meghan] left in March, they were planning to come back over the summer and again in the winter. It has made the situation worse than it would have been otherwise.”

However, he said the pair still have a loyalty to one another, adding: “They have been tight-lipped about the nature of their quarrel, William has not uttered a word on the record about it.”

Previously, Lacey compared the fallout caused by the rift between Harry and William with the abdication of King Edward VIII, who gave up the throne to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

“[Their rift] shows many parallels with the abdication of 1936 which was a battle between love and duty. In 1936, love won. In 2020, Harry is embodying love, that was the message he drew from the loveless marriage of his parents, while William is speaking up for duty, that is what has kept him going.”

But unlike King Edward’s abdication, Harry and Meghan ending their royal roles will not be the end of the story because the former actor is a “born campaigner”, Lacey told Yahoo UK.

Speaking as his long-awaited book Battle of Brothers is released, Lacey said the two princes have a new deadline to repair their relationship: July 1, 2021, when the statue of their mother will be unveiled at Kensington Palace.

“That represents a deadline, it is no good just pretending to be friends – that would be damaging. Either they will achieve reconciliation or they will discuss or agree some sort of break which will severe Harry and Meghan permanently from the Royal Family.”

Additional reporting by Rebecca Taylor.

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