Incident 2019 revelations: Did Harry turn down reconciliation meetings with William?

The rumor mill is bubbling like never before. Several tell-all books give alleged insights behind the scenes of the British royal family. In the work “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown” the author now describes an alleged miscommunication between the brothers Harry and William.

Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship has been going downhill for a number of years. As the journalist Valentine Low writes in his new investigative book “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown”, according to the “Daily Mail”, Harry is said to have rejected his brother’s attempt at reconciliation as early as 2019.

At that time, the documentary “Harry and Meghan – An African Journey” was created during a royal tour to South Africa. Harry and his wife, Duchess Meghan, spoke to reporter Tom Bradby and caused a stir with their statements. With tears in her eyes, Meghan revealed in the interview how difficult she is with life in the limelight and that the stress has had an impact on her mental health.

In the same documentary, Harry also stated that he and Prince William were on “different paths”. “As brothers you have good days and you have bad days,” Harry told the reporter. For the first time it became clear that the air was thick behind the palace walls.

According to Low, Prince William contacted his brother via Whatsapp the next day and asked him to meet. It was originally supposed to be for that. In another message, however, he then asked William who he would tell about the meeting, to which William is said to have replied that he had to clear his appointment calendar, i.e. inform his private secretary. Fearing that Williams’ team would leak the press about the brothers’ meeting, Harry then reportedly uninvited his brother.

The book goes on to say that Harry’s rebuff to William was “heartbreaking” for anyone who knew what was really going on. It highlighted “the dysfunction that underlies so many royal relationships.” Too often, members of the royal family communicated through their employees instead of calling each other directly. The result is distrust and inner conflict. Author Low’s statements cannot be verified.

The break between the brothers deepened when Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan decided in spring 2020 that they no longer wanted to be working members of the royal family and to move to California. In March 2021, the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey finally revealed how deep the rift between Harry and his family is.