Prince Harry and Prince William have been at loggerheads for years now, with the brothers barely on speaking terms. And with no signs of their feud ending anytime soon, insiders say it’s taking a toll on Kate Middleton.
Sources tell Closer that while the Princess of Wales, 42, took a step back to focus on her health following her cancer diagnosis, she’s been left devastated by how bad things have become between Harry, 39, and William, 42.
“Kate has been shielded from the increasing drama with the Sussexes for quite a while now because people just didn't want to stress her out, so she was not getting briefed or updated on much. But she doesn't want to be left out of the loop anymore so she’s now reading up on everything that's
been going on in her absence, including what’s been happening with Meghan and Harry and she’s very concerned,” our source reveals.
“Kate looks at Harry and she sees a very lost soul. She’s still incredibly fond of him and so saddened that it's come to this situation where he's completely excommunicated himself from the whole family and there now seems to be this wall that can't be broken down.”
And it’s even said to be causing tension between her and William as she encourages him to make amends. “It's something she really wants William to try and fix, but he’s refusing and is adamant that Harry deserves no mercy, that anything they do will just be manipulated by him and Meghan,” the source continues.
“In his view, the best course is to keep quiet, keep away from them and get on with their lives, but Kate is very much opposed to that way of thinking. As far as she’s concerned, life's too short for grudges. She’s
pushing William to give peace a chance with his brother and stop this cruel and ugly feud, which isn't going down well with him at all.”
Things first turned fraught between the pair when Harry and Meghan, 42, stepped back from royal life in 2020, with the couple going on to make bombshell claims about the family during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Their relationship became even more strained following the release of Harry’s controversial memoir, Spare, in January 2023. In it, he alleged that William physically attacked him by grabbing his collar, ripping his necklace and knocking him to the floor.
And while Harry and Kate once had an extremely close bond, he took aim at his sister-in-law in the book, too. He claimed that she “grimaced” when Meghan asked to use her lip gloss, and that she made Meghan cry before her wedding over a disagreement about Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
At the end of last year, tensions appeared to reach boiling point when Kate and King Charles were named as Meghan’s alleged “royal racists” in the Dutch version of Omid Scobie’s biography, End Game, with claims they had made comments on her son Archie's skin colour before he was born. The version was quickly withdrawn after it was revealed that they had been named accidentally in the Dutch edition.
Now, it appears that things are so bad that Harry may not even return to the UK to attend a family funeral following the death of his uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, who was married to Princess Diana’s elder sister, Jane Fellowes.
A pal claimed, “The death will be a huge blow to the Spencer family. In normal times it would be unimaginable that Harry would not be there to support Jane. Of course he would want to be there. It will be a huge gathering of the Spencer clan. But these are not normal times and it may well be that everyone feels Harry’s attendance would just create too much drama. It will be very sad for him if he can’t make it.”
Despite everything that has happened, our source says that Kate – who has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy – still cares about Harry, and her recent health woes have only made her sentiments clearer.
“Kate has never been someone that could just turn off her feelings with a switch and going through cancer has only made her more sensitive and caring,” they explain.
“And the fact is, she and Harry shared some wonderful times together, he was very much a brother figure in the true sense of the word. People forget he used to help her when she was having trouble and feeling down, he was always there to cheer her up. Back when she first started dating William it was Harry that went the most out of his way to make her feel welcome in the family and put her at ease. She can’t simply forget all that because of this falling out. Yes, it’s hurtful that things have fallen apart the
way but at the same time she doesn’t blame him for taking his wife’s side, because she would expect Williams to do exactly the same thing if the roles were reversed.”
While it seems that the rift may be too far gone, the source adds that Kate is determined to fix things.
“The bottom line is there's just a lot of water under the bridge now. And now more than ever, she has this very strong sense that life is too short to hang on to anger and resentments. Especially when it’s so clearly causing such torment. She sees the pain that Harry’s in and although William might put on a tough front, Kate knows he’s hurting too,” adds the source.
“She’s now making it her mission to convince William he ought to stop being so harsh and unforgiving with his brother. William doesn't want to squabble with Kate, especially not while she’s in the condition she's in. But at the same time, he's absolutely adamant that there will be no softening in his line towards Harry. And so there have been some difficult conversations. He tries to avoid the subject, but Kate is not giving up and it’s unlikely that she will, which is good news for Harry. There’s a feeling that if anyone will be able to put this right, it’s Kate.”