Why Prince William and Prince Harry are no closer to a truce

They may be back in touch following last week’s explosive Oprah tell-all, but the relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William is far from healed.

As recently as 2019, the bond between the two was described as “incredibly intimate”. But in Meghan and Harry’s hours-long interview with the talk show legend, the younger of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s two sons hinted – not for the first time – at a distance between the pair.

Among the other devastating revelations the Sussexes made, Harry said that while he loves William “to bits” and “we’ve been through hell together”, “we’re on different paths”.

The word that currently defines their relationship, he told Oprah, is “space”.

William – who Harry said was “trapped” in the palace due to his responsibility as heir to the throne – told reporters over the weekend that he had not spoken to Harry “but I will do" as he defended the royals, claiming “we are very much not a racist family”.

Now, Gayle King – the famous friend of both Oprah and Meghan – has confirmed reports that the brothers had spoken, though the conversations were “not productive”.

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.@GayleKing checked in with Prince Harry & Meghan this weekend:

“Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father, too. The word I was given was those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.” pic.twitter.com/fe0ATukkYw

— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 16, 2021

“I’m not trying to break news, but I did actually call (Meghan and Harry) to see how they were feeling, and it’s true, Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too,” King said on CBS This Morning.

“The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation.”

The mixed reception of Harry and Meghan’s interview in the UK – and the continued coverage of it as media outlets race to fact check the couple’s claims – has not helped ease tensions.

“There’s a lack of trust on both sides which makes moving forward very hard,” one source close to William told Vanity Fair.

“William is now worried that anything he says to his brother will be plastered over American TV.”

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In the wake of Prince Philip’s most recent health scare – and his release from hospital after a monthlong stay – another family friend told the publication it was “very strange” that Meghan and Harry had done the interview at all.

“The family is focused on the Duke of Edinburgh and as far as they are concerned his health is paramount,” they said.

“It seems the Sussexes seem to want to keep fuelling this story at a time when the royals are trying to protect Prince Philip from the headlines. It’s a very strange way to go about trying to heal a family rift.”

As for what caused the rift between the brothers, last year’s Sussex biography Finding Freedom claimed it was six word warning from William to Harry regarding his relationship with Meghan that set their feud in motion: “Don’t feel you need to rush this.”

“Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl," William, who supposedly had “reservations about Meghan from the very beginning”, told Harry, according to royal reporters (and biography authors) Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.

The phrase “this girl”, Scobie and Durand wrote, immediately “p*ssed off” Harry, who couldn’t believe “that his brother would ask such a thing”.

“In those last two words ‘this girl’ Harry heard the tone of the snobbishness that was anathema to his approach to the world,” the two wrote.

“During his 10-year career in the military, outside the royal bubble, he had learnt not to make snap judgments of people based on their accent, education, ethnicity class or profession.”

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What also “made it very hurtful for Harry”, a “source exceptionally close to William” told Vanity Fair in 2019, “is that he has always given Harry his full support particularly with Kate”.

“Not everyone adored Kate Middleton in the beginning. Some of William’s friends were snobbish about Kate, but Harry gave her the thumbs up from the outset and he expected the same loyalty back from William,” they said.

Last January, following Harry and Meghan’s bombshell departure as senior royals, William revealed his “sadness” over the brothers’ tense relationship, saying he hoped one day everyone would “play on the team again”.

“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that anymore,” the 38-year-old said, according to The Sunday Times.

“We’re separate entities. I’m sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when we’re all singing from the same page.”