Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship has been fractured for a number of years now, with the brothers no longer on talking terms due to the Duke of Sussex’s repeated public attacks against the Firm.
While Harry, 40, has spoken a lot about his brother over recent years since quitting life as a senior royal in 2020, including accusing him of physically attacking him in his memoir, Prince William, 42, has remained tight-lipped on the topic.
However, while the Prince of Wales may not be publicly vocal on his feelings about his estranged brother, his actions have shown that forgiveness is far off.
From not speaking at their father King Charles’s Coronation last year, to avoiding each other at a Spencer family funeral just a few months ago, it is clear the brothers no longer share the close relationship they once had.
It was also reported last year that the future King has a nickname for his brother that reflects how he really feels about him.
According to Omid Scoobie’s book Endgame, the prince sees Harry – who lives in America with his wife Meghan Markle – as a “defector”, which according to Collins dictionary is someone who leaves their country, political party, or other group, and joins an opposing country, party, or group.
In Endgame, Scoobie states: “I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view. These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown.”
When quitting royal life in 2020, Prince Harry said he wanted to become financially independent, as well as guarantee more privacy for his young family.
This saw the duke move overseas to Montecito in California, making the occasional trip back to the UK when necessary.
Although some members of the Royal Family have since flown out to see the prince in his new £11 million Montecito mansion, including his cousin Princess Eugenie, Prince William has not been one of them.
While the brothers are not on good terms, this did not stop the future King from wishing Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday in September on social media, a move that was unexpected from William.
The prince also mentioned his brother recently on his ITV documentary Prince William: We Can End Homelessness, which saw the prince reflect on the times their mum Princess Diana would take them to homeless shelters to teach them about what homelessness means.
Despite these small mentions of his brother, a reunion between William and Harry is not expected to be on the cards anytime soon.
