Friends of Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton have told The Daily Beast that they would not welcome the “drama” a visit by Prince Harry would entail, and said Kate and William are focused on protecting their privacy as she receives treatment for and recovers from cancer.
The comments add to a sense that while Harry and Meghan Markle appear keen to paint themselves as eager to reconcile with the royals after over two years of very public attacks on them—indeed, Harry said before his furious attacks in Spare had even been published that he wanted his father and brother “back” as “a family, not an institution”—William and Kate remain uninterested in the prospect, both privately and publicly.
William and Kate have notably not responded to a series of semi-public overtures aimed at restoring fraternal relations initiated by Harry.
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They were devastated and enraged by Harry’s decisions to, as they saw it, sell intimate family secrets in his memoir, Spare. Friends of William, a famously obstinate man, have previously told The Daily Beast he “fucking hates” Harry and sees no chance of reconciliation.
The extent of the divide was graphically illustrated when William and Harry recently failed to appear alongside each other, even though Harry was only joining via videolink, at the Diana Awards. Meghan announced the launch of her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard minutes before William took to the stage.
The Sussexes were not informed of Kate’s diagnosis before the news was made public, which clearly shows that they are not considered part of Kate and William’s trusted circle. They issued a public statement wishing “health and healing for Kate and the family” after the news was made public, and ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship subsequently reported they had “reached out privately” to Kate and William.
Kate’s office refused to make any comment on the claims, and did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast about whether William would agree to see Harry in May, when he is due to visit the U.K. to attend a church service commemorating the ten year anniversary of the Invictus Games.
Friends of the couple were more forthcoming, with the answer being a hard no.
One friend of William and Kate’s said: “Catherine and William have been very clear they want peace and quiet for them and the kids. A visit from Harry, with all the drama that would bring, would be the opposite of that.”
Another friend said: “They have come to terms with the estrangement from Harry, and are content to let sleeping dogs lie.”
Asked if they had responded to the private messages from Harry and Meghan, which were also reported by the Telegraph, or if William wanted an apology from Harry for his attacks on him and his wife in his memoir Spare and his Netflix documentary, the second friend said: “They have bigger things to worry about.”
It is notable how resolute William and Kate’s camp are being when it comes to rejecting the notion of responding to overtures from Harry and Meghan. When Harry visited Charles after his cancer diagnosis and his camp suggested he would take a meeting with William if it was offered, William’s camp quickly said there were “no plans for them to meet.”
Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor at the Sun, told The Daily Beast: “Harry and Meghan have got some sense so they know it is important to be seen to be extending the olive branch, especially given that global sympathy is with Kate right now. But William and Kate don’t need long memories to recall that not too far back they were being subjected to very harmful allegations, to which, incidentally, it was impossible for them to come back and answer and have their say. So it’s not very surprising that Harry doesn’t really matter to them right now. A cancer diagnosis puts things in perspective.”
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge along with Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive at St Mary Magdalene's church on the Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain, December 25, 2018.
Hannah McKay/ReutersThe New York Times best-selling author of the 2021 biography of William, Harry, Kate and Meghan, Brothers and Wives, Christopher Andersen, told The Daily Beast: “William is and always has been a world-class grudge-holder. Once he has turned his back on you, it’s virtually impossible to get back in William’s good graces. He has never gotten over Megxit, the Sussexes’ confessional Oprah Winfrey interview, or the hurtful things Harry said about him in his memoir Spare.
“Of course, the standard line is that illness has a way of bringing families closer together. I’m sure Harry, who has made several overtures of late-only to be met with stony silence, would like to see that happen. But I wouldn’t sing Kumbaya anytime soon. With his wife and his father both battling cancer, William must feel now that he truly has the weight of the world on his shoulders. In his defense, William simply doesn't have the time or the emotional bandwidth to try and make nice with the brother he believes betrayed not only him but the entire royal family.”
Andersen added, “Bridging the chasm between the brothers will be a daunting and complicated undertaking, a task that William scarcely has the time for now. The Prince of Wales has to stay focused on his family and the immediate task before him, holding the monarchy together while Kate and the king heal.”
