Prince Harry and Prince William‘s reunion at their grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral did little to mend the rift in their relationship, according to one royal insider. Although the two royal brothers appeared to act cordially toward one another as they chatted outside St. George’s Chapel as a handful of family members gathered to mourn their loss, behind closed doors, they “started quarreling.”
In a new article for the Daily Mail, royal historian Robert Lacey detailed what went down behind closed doors during that highly publicized reunion. After more than a year off of his home soil, and just a month after his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry returned to the U.K. to be with family following the April passing of Philip. While there had been hope that his return amid such a somber backdrop would serve to bring the family together again and bring an “atmosphere of reflection,” it served to do the opposite. Lacey said that although it appeared as though Harry and William were “inching towards reconciliation” as they spoke just outside the chapel, “those hopes were dashed within minutes of the siblings getting inside the castle and beyond camera vision.”
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“They started quarreling again,” Lacy, who is the author of Battle of Brothers and consultant to Netflix’s The Crown, wrote. “There they were, at each other’s throats as fiercely as ever. The rage and anger between those two has grown so incredibly deep. Too many harsh and wounding things have been said.”
Lacey went on to contradict reports that the brothers had a family talk with their father, Prince Charles. According to Lacey, “there was no reconciliation, and no brotherly sit-down or ‘mini summit’ following” the funeral. He later added that “the conflict between Diana’s two bitterly divided sons does not seem likely to end any time soon,” though he said that “there is a peace plan in action.”
The new report comes as the two royal brothers are scheduled to reunite for the second time this year to attend the unveiling of a statue of Princess Diana. After returning to his wife Meghan Markle’s side following his grandfather’s funeral, Harry returned to the U.K. on Friday, June 25. Harry, however, will not be spending much time with members of his family. After touching down in London, the royal was escorted to Frogmore Cottage, where he was set to begin a days-long quarantine, required by U.K. COVID-19 guidelines. The prince will then reunite with his brother for the July 1 ceremony, which will be a mostly private affair.
