Not all tea and sympathy. Prince Harry has always been one of the most jovial members of the British royal family, but he hasn’t always gotten along with his own relatives.
The Invictus Games founder is the youngest son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. As children, he and his older brother, Prince William, seemed inseparable, but as they got older, cracks began to form in their relationship.
“There’s always been a part of Harry that felt like he was living in his brother’s shadow,” an insider told Us Weekly in November 2019. “He doesn’t envy the responsibility that comes with being the future king of England, but William’s the ‘golden boy’ and Harry feels like he has a lot to live up to.”
The rift between the brothers grew wider in March 2021 when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, opened about their decision to step back from their royal duties in a tell-all interview with CBS. During the TV special, the Sussexes accused unnamed members of the royal family of racist behavior. In particular, they alleged that one person had asked questions about their son Archie‘s skin tone ahead of his May 2019 birth. (They welcomed their second child, daughter Lilibet, in June 2021.)
Days after the interview, the Duke of Cambridge responded to the accusations by saying, “We’re very much not a racist family.”
One month later, the brothers reunited at the funeral for their grandfather Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 at age 99. Though they were photographed walking together after the ceremony, a source later told Us that the duo still had work to do to mend their relationship.
“Harry did speak to William while he was in the U.K., so in that respect, they made some progress,” the insider said at the time. “But they definitely haven’t reached the stage where all is forgiven, nor have they buried the hatchet.”
Harry’s dynamic with his father has also been strained since he and Meghan decided to step down as full-time working royals in January 2020. When the former military pilot visited the U.K. for Philip’s funeral, he and Charles didn’t manage to fully move past the tension caused by the CBS tell-all.
“They barely communicated,” a source told Us in April 2021. “There definitely continues to be a huge wedge between the two.”
Harry traveled to Balmoral, Scotland, upon Queen Elizabeth II‘s declining health in September 2022 while overseas with Meghan, though he did not make it in time to say goodbye. The monarch, who died at the age of 96, was also visited by Charles and Camilla.
One day after Elizabeth’s death, the king specifically mentioned Harry and Meghan in his inaugural speech as he declared Camilla Queen Consort and bestowed new titles on William and Kate. In a surprising gesture, Charles “express[ed] my love for Harry and Meghan, as they continue to build their lives overseas,” he stated at the time.
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Keep scrolling for a look back at Harry’s ups and downs with the royal family over the years:
