Prince William and Prince Harry Have “Learned” to “Live Without Each Other” Amid Years-Long Feud
Prince William and Prince Harry Have “Learned” to “Live Without Each Other” Amid Years-Long Feud
Rachel BurchfieldMon, November 9, 2026 at 4:47 PM UTC
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Prince Harry and Prince William on July 1, 2021.Credit: GettyThe Gist -
According to royal biographer Christopher Andersen, when it comes to Prince William and Prince Harry and their persistent feud, “reconciliation is not in the cards.”
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex have “learned” to “live without each other,” he told Fox News Digital.
“These are two extraordinarily strong and stubborn men,” Andersen added. “If the death of their grandmother Queen Elizabeth, their father’s coronation, and the cancer battles of both the king and the Princess of Wales didn’t bring them together, it’s very hard to imagine what would.”
According to a royal biographer, as brothers Prince William and Prince Harry now enter their fifth year of not speaking to one another, they have “learned” that “they can live without each other.”
“Harry has never believed he has anything to apologize for,” Christopher Andersen told Fox News Digital. “William had never believed he had anything to apologize for. Reconciliation is not in the cards.”
Prince William and Prince Harry at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral on September 19, 2022.Credit: Getty
“It shouldn’t come as any surprise that William views Harry as having betrayed not only the royal family but the institution of the monarchy itself,” he continued. Of Harry’s unexpected return to the U.K. with his family in August, Andersen said that his move back “and picking up where he left off” before leaving his home country in 2020 “just rubbed salt into an already festering wound.”
“These are two extraordinarily strong and stubborn men who have, sadly, learned over the past few years that they can live without each other,” Andersen added. “If the death of their grandmother Queen Elizabeth, their father’s coronation, and the cancer battles of both the king and the Princess of Wales didn’t bring them together, it’s very hard to imagine what would.”
Prince William and Prince Harry on September 5, 2017.Credit: Getty
The last time William and Harry are thought to have spoken is at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022. While Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles, seems to be improving, when it comes to William, broadcaster Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that the Prince of Wales “finds it impossible to forgive his brother for leaving him to cope with the pressure of being future king on his own.”
Chard, who described Harry as William’s “wingman,” added, “The sheer stress and upset caused to his family over the past few years is impossible to forgive.”
In October, Harry told GQ’s “One More Question” podcast that he is open to reconciliation, telling the outlet that “the most important thing is to reconcile. That’s the key point.”
Prince Harry and Prince William on May 18, 2018.Credit: Getty
“It’s only Harry who would ‘love reconciliation,’ not Prince William,” royal family commentator Hilary Fordwich said. “He remains furious regarding his brother’s betrayal, insults, and the damage he has wrought upon the family. The impasse is due to both the lack of trust any of the senior royals have in the Sussexes and the lack of apology from them. Without a formal mea culpa, there is no starting point.”
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A close source told People in July of the tension between William and Harry, “I thought it would have perhaps eased a little bit by now, to be honest. But there has been no movement, especially on William’s side.”
A friend of William’s told The Sunday Times of the feud, “What has struck me the most recently is that he just doesn’t mention it at all. It used to be that the family stuff was taking up a lot of space in his head. It was a very close relationship, and he was very upset.”
“But he’s not letting it get to him at all anymore,” the friend continued. “It is a change. It’s sad, but it’s a much healthier space for him to be at.”
Prince William on November 4, 2024.Credit: Getty
Royal historian Amanda Foreman told People that the rift between William and Harry has “gone from being a hot war to a very, very cold war.” Royal biographer Russell Myers added, “William’s view is clear—any relationship his father has with Harry or the Sussexes as a family is entirely up to him. But looking toward the future, he will have no relationship with them, in a working or private capacity whatsoever.”
“William and Catherine can maintain that their focus has to be about them and their family, but there will be pressure on them about how they interact with Harry and Meghan and their family in the future,” he continued.
The feud between the brothers has only been magnified after the Sussex family’s move back to the U.K. three months ago after more than six years away living in the U.S. “It’s been magnified,” a palace insider told People. “When they were in California, and you gazed through the looking glass, you couldn’t see it so well, but it is right back in front of them.”
Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton on July 10, 2018.Credit: Getty
Royal biographer Andrew Morton told Vanity Fair, “There have always been tensions between William and Harry, even before Meghan came on the scene, from who would get the biggest room at Balmoral to their charities. But those tensions are greater now than they have ever been. The brothers are at opposite ends of the spectrum.”
“By coming back home, Harry has changed the narrative, and William is fuming,” he continued. “I think there will be pressure on William to be the bigger person and forgive his brother, but I think that is still some way off.”
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