Prince Harry and Prince William's royal rift 'very real, very ugly'

It’s fair to say it’s been a rollercoaster few years for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who got married, welcomed their first child together and then decided to up sticks and move to LA.

There’s also the constant rumours following Prince Harry that he and his brother, Prince William, have been at loggerheads for years now.

Now, a royal insider has told US Weekly that while the pair are trying to piece back together their fractured relationship, they still have a long way to go.

"William and Harry’s fallout was very real, very ugly and incredibly intense," the source said.

"They’d reached an impasse, there was so much mud under the bridge and a lot of people felt their feud was beyond repair."

Prince Harry “on different path” to Prince William

In October 2019, the Duke of Sussex opened up in a one-hour documentary, where during filming, presenter Tom Bradby – who has known the duke for fifteen years – asked about the rumours of a royal family rift following the split in the two households.

“Part of this role, part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it is under, inevitably stuff happens,” Prince Harry responded.

“But we are brothers, we will always be brothers. We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him as I know he will be for me.

He went on to say that though they don’t see each other very often he “loves him dearly.”

While he didn’t directly discuss a potential fall-out, the duke went on to say that the “majority of this stuff is created out of nothing.”

He added: “As brothers you have good days and bad days.”

During lockdown it was claimed that Prince William and Prince Harry had been trying to mend their broken relationship with regular Zoom calls.

“William finds Zoom a good, informal way of keeping in touch, and some would say 'tabs', on his younger brother,” the source told Fabulous magazine, adding the brothers have had “several” calls already.

“It's easy to set up and involves no awkward scheduling. After the children have gone to bed and supper with Kate. It has been only William and Harry. It is around lunchtime in LA.”

The ‘Fab Four’s’ royal rift

Rumours of a royal rift between the pair have been circling for years, with Prince Harry even caught on camera trying to dodge his brother, Prince William, on Easter Sunday.

And while many initially thought the tension was between Kate Middleton and new sister-in-law Meghan Markle, it was eventually revealed that it was in fact the brothers who were not seeing eye to eye.

Back in April, one author believed she knew what may have started it all.

Katie Nicholl, who wrote the books, Harry and Meghan, Harry, and Kate, believes the separation between the brothers began when Prince William showed hesitation about Harry and Meghan’s relationship ahead of their wedding.

Harry is said to have been left fuming and married Meghan less than two years after they’re believed to have met.

“William was concerned about how quickly the relationship had moved and wanted to make sure that Harry was making the right decision,” Katie Nicholl reportedly told Fox News.

“What was intended as well-meaning, brotherly concern and a bit of advice went down quite badly with Harry, who felt William wasn’t being as supportive as he might have been.”

Katie said at the time that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s move to Frogmore Cottage was a great move, as it would put some distance between the pair and hopefully help mend the rift.

However, a few months later Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to split from the family, taking their son, Archie, to LA where they’ve settled into the Californian lifestyle.

The couple were reportedly left devastated in November when the palace refused to lay a wreath on Prince Harry’s behalf on Remembrance Sunday.

Harry and Meghan were then photographed leaving flowers at the graves of two Commonwealth soldiers in the Los Angeles National Cemetery.

Harry and Meghan’s UK return

Now it’s thought the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are preparing their return to the UK in March to finalise the agreement, which saw the duo lose their ‘HRH’ titles and public funding but allowed them to keep their titles and patronages until March 2021.

The Sun reports the pair want to extend the existing agreement into a ‘more permanent’ arrangement and will return to the UK to broker the deal face to face.

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