Looking toward the future. Prince Harry revealed he has concerns about Prince William and Princess Kate‘s kids potentially going through the same issues he had as part of the royal family.
“As I know full well — within my family — if it’s not us [me and my brother] it’s going to be someone else,” the Duke of Sussex, 38, explained during an interview with The Telegraph, which was released on Friday, January 13.
After having to live life in his older brother’s shadow, Harry wondered how William, 40, and Kate’s kids would handle their dynamic. The Prince and Princess of Wales, 41, share Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4. (The couple’s eldest is second in line to the throne.)
“And though William and I have talked about it once or twice, and he has made it very clear to me that his kids are not my responsibility, I still feel a responsibility knowing that out of those three children, at least one will end up like me, the spare,” Harry continued. “And that hurts, that worries me.”
The BetterUp CIO has addressed the differences he faced with his older brother due to their line of succession to the throne.
“Two years older than me, Willy was the Heir, whereas I was the Spare. This wasn’t merely how the press referred to us — though it was definitely that. This was shorthand often used by Pa [King Charles III] and Mummy [Princess Diana] and Grandpa [Prince Philip]. And even Granny [Queen Elizabeth II],” Harry wrote about the nickname in his memoir Spare. “I was summoned to provide backup, distraction, diversion and, if necessary, a spare part. Kidney, perhaps. Blood transfusion. Speck of bone marrow. This was all made explicitly clear to me from the start of life’s journey and regularly reinforced after.”
One month prior, Harry referenced William’s future position as king while discussing their rift.
“I mean, the saddest part of it was this wedge created between myself and my brother, so that he’s now on the institution’s side,” Harry explained in Harry & Meghan, his Netflix docuseries with Meghan Markle in December 2022, referring to his royal exit. “Part of that, I get. I understand, right? That’s his inheritance. So, to some extent, it’s already ingrained in him that part of his responsibility is the survivability and the continuation of this institution.”
A source exclusively told Us Weekly this month that Harry’s public comments about his relationship with William have created more issues. “At this point, he’s got no plans to speak to Harry,” the insider shared with Us. “He’s come to terms with the fact [that] he’s lost his little brother and quite possibly for life.”
Harry, for his part, noted that he would like to work things out with his brother and father.
“If [my family] can get to the point of reconciliation, that will have a ripple effect across the world,” he said on Good Morning America during a Monday, January 9, segment. “I genuinely believe that, and that’s kind of what is pushing me. And if that doesn’t happen, then that’s very sad.”
