Harry and William have always been very different. William was always perceived as the quiet goody two shoes and Harry had quite a bit of a reputation as a loud, fun-loving, mischievous one. But that’s often the case with younger brothers, they act out a lot, and Harry is 2 years younger than William. Despite their differences, Harry and William always got along and seemed to have a good relationship going, un until recent years, when rumors about the feud growing between royal brothers.
At first, the reason for the feud was thought to be a rivalry. Perhaps Harry was just jealous of William’s position as the heir of the throne and living his life as the second-best, in case something happens to the older brother isn’t that great. Then there were rumors that William was actually jealous of Harry because he seemed to be a more charming and interesting brother according to the press, not to mention his boyish looks, while William was losing his hair. But both of those seem kind of ridiculous if you think about it.
Another round of feud rumors started with Harry’s interest in Meghan Markle. Apparently, William has some opinions about that. Not that he had anything against Harry dating Meghan, but is has been reported that he thought their relationship was going pretty strong very quickly and he didn’t want Harry to rush into anything. Harry, in turn also has reportedly accused William of trying to ruin his relationship before it even had a chance to really start.
These feud rumors were only spurred on when Harry married Meghan. The press didn’t treat their wedding nearly as well as it did that of William and Kate. When the older brother got married everyone celebrated it as the new generation of royals. When Harry married Meghan there was a lot of controversy and speculation about whether it’s a good idea considering Kate’s acting career, her race, the fact that she’s American and not British, etc. After the wedding, the press didn’t really let up on discussing Meghan Markle and her position in the royal family, if anything the yellow press took it upon themselves to criticise her every move and that made Harry’s relationship with the press even worse than it was before. We all know he always blamed the press for how it treated his mother and now that he saw that they were turning on his wife too – he wasn’t happy.
Then Harry’s and Meghan’s son Archie was born and their decision to keep his baptism private was also viewed as unusual as per royals. People are used to having every event in the royal family to be public, so when they chose to keep their kid to themselves for a bit rumors were circulating that it’s all Meghan’s fault and her celebrity approach to privacy is not in line with the royal tradition.
Once Archie was 4 months old, Harry and Meghan went to Africa and filmed a documentary in which Harry even addressed the feud rumors a little. He didn’t say there was a feud, he just admitted that he and William aren’t as close anymore. It makes sense, they’re older now, busier, they have more responsibilities and their own families to take care of and spend time with. And it’s normal for brothers to argue and not always agree with each other. Some days are better than others, but Harry did say that no matter what he’s always there for William and loves him dearly.
Then came the announcement about Harry and Meghan stepping away from the royal duties and distancing themselves from the royal family. And while this can be used to stir up even more stuff between the brothers, it strangely makes sense. Harry is no longer second in line to the throne after William because he has kids. So he’s not really needed in that sense, which gives him a great opportunity to stray further away from royal duties he never really wanted and have a more normal and peaceful life with his new family, hopefully not as much in the public eye in Canada. Will the distance cause more problems or will it make the relationship between the brothers stronger because they’ll get a chance to miss each other? Only time will tell.