ROYALSPrince William and Prince Harry 'Weren't Very Close' Until Princess Diana’s Unexpected Death in 1997
Princess Diana feared Prince William was treated better than Prince Harry.
Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship unraveled after the release of Spare, but their sibling rivalry might have begun decades before the explosive memoir was published.
According to an expert, the princes struggled to bond throughout their childhood until the tragedy of losing Princess Diana brought them together.
Princess Diana tragically passed in 1997.
"I remember after William went on his gap year, way back on operation Raleigh, Harry said 'he’s much nicer now,' so this myth that Harry and William were very close, is a myth," royal expert Ingrid Seward told an outlet.
"They were only really close after their mother died," the author claimed. "Of course, they unified and they were the only two people that knew what it felt like. But they weren’t very close as youngsters."
Prince Harry discussed his royal upbringing in 'Spare.'
Before her 1997 passing, Diana expressed concerns about the Duke of Sussex's place within the royal family in comparison to the Prince of Wales.
"We talked about it quite a lot. She said, ‘I worry for Harry and I’m really, really careful that he’s not treated differently than William,'" Seward revealed. "When they used to go and see the Queen Mother, she would pat the chair and say, ‘Come and sit here William’ and completely ignore Harry, and that really upset Diana."
"I think she [Diana] worried much more for Harry because she just wasn’t sure which way he was going to go," she noted.
Prince William wished Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday.
Despite their rift, William and Kate Middleton publicly acknowledged Harry's 40th birthday on Sunday, September 15, but insiders claimed the social media post doesn't mean the trio mended things. OK! previously reported a source claimed William doesn't want to spend time with Harry.
“The honest truth is that William has no interest right now in reaching out to Harry and Meghan," a source told an outlet. "He regards what Harry said in his book as unforgivable and, understandably given Catherine’s cancer diagnosis, just wants to focus on his wife and family first and his job second."
"There isn’t space for a complicated reconciliation process with Harry," they added. "It’s not a priority.”
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Prince William is the heir to the British monarchy.
The Waleses took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to acknowledge Harry's big day.
“Wishing a Happy 40th Birthday to The Duke of Sussex," Kensington Royal shared on the platform.
The future king and queen's fans were shocked by the comments.
"Now this is extremely surprising fair play William," one person wrote.
"Thank you for being the better person," another added. "Now, PH & MM cannot trash the royal family for not wishing him a happy birthday."
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According to royal commentator Michael Cole, the Waleses' comments aren't proof of them wanting to reconnect with Harry.
"The big surprise of today is that the Prince and Princess of Wales added their birthday good wishes to those of Buckingham Palace," Cole told GB News. "Now there's been none of that for at least two years. So what should we read into that? Well I would say it is definitely not an olive branch."
Cole stressed that the royals are "still at war" and believes the post was William and Kate trying to do the "right thing" during a rocky period.
Seward spoke to The Sun.
