ROYALSKate Middleton Will Act As 'Peacemaker' Between Prince William & Prince Harry At Prince Philip's Funeral
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, will reportedly act as a "peacemaker" between Prince William and Prince Harry at Prince Philip's funeral this weekend.
The Duke of Edinburgh will be laid to rest on Saturday, April 17, and the occasion will be the first time the brothers will be face-to-face since Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals — as well as the first time Harry will see the royal family since his and Meghan's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey aired earlier this year.
While their relationship is still tense, Middleton will reportedly step in to help keep things cordial, as she is close with both of them.
"They know it is not about them on Saturday — it is about honoring their grandfather’s memory and supporting their grandmother," a royal insider told The Telegraph. "I would be extremely surprised if that wasn’t front and center of both their minds. They will be keen to spend time together as a family, in the same time zone for once."
"The entire focus is on the Queen. No exceptions. A family unified," another source added.
Though he may not have addressed the explosive interview with his family in person (just yet), Harry did speak to both William and his father, Prince Charles, following the tell-all chat. "The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation," Gayle King shared days after the interview aired.
"And I think what is still upsetting to them is the palace keeps saying they want to work it out privately, but yet, they believe these false stories are coming out that are very disparaging against Meghan, still," King explained.
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Since Meghan is currently pregnant with the couple's second child, she was not given clearance by her doctor to fly to the U.K. for the funeral. The guest numbers will also be heavily limited amid the coronavirus pandemic, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson declining to attend to allow as many royals as possible to go.
"Meghan and Harry were told about his grandfather’s passing by his father, Prince Charles, before the news was made public. The first thing they did was call the Queen and check in on her," a source told The Royal Observer.
"Meghan just picked up the phone and called. It might not have been the right thing to do, and it may not follow protocol, but she didn’t care. When another human being is hurting, you reach out to them."
Meanwhile, Meghan and Kate reportedly did not talk after the interview aired; Meghan discussed an alleged incident between the Duchesses about flower girl dresses in the lead-up to her 2018 wedding to Harry.
"Kate’s biggest fear is that Meghan will reveal the contents of anything she says. There is no trust after what Meghan did," an insider told the The Royal Observer. "It is clear that Meghan shares private conversations with reporters and TV personalities, which makes it very hard to move forward.
"Kate would pick up the phone in a second if she thought it would help," the insider added, "but having another private call leaked to the press isn’t going to help anyone."
