Prince William’s temporary truce with his estranged brother will remain until after Prince Harry publishes his memoir, royal insiders say.
The future of their relationship hangs in the balance despite the siblings appearing on a public walkabout together with their wives in a show of unity following the Queen’s death.
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex also stood shoulder to shoulder during a solemn procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall last week, guiding Her Majesty on a final journey before her lying in state.
But in a striking picture taken on the day of the Queen’s funeral, the divisions in the family were laid bare as Prince Harry and his disgraced uncle Prince Andrew walked on the outside of the King and his heir.
Despite the family coming together to honour our late monarch, including two vigils by the Queen’s children and grandchildren, where Andrew and Harry were given special dispensation to wear their military uniforms, insiders have revealed that their relationship with the rest of The Firm still remains fractured beyond repair.
Royal sources have revealed that regardless of the display of harmony between the former “Fab Four” of the brothers and their wives, the princes did not plan to meet throughout Harry’s time in the UK.
William, 40, and Harry, 38, reportedly had just one meeting last Thursday when they shared a brief chance encounter.
The Prince of Wales was returning to Windsor after collecting his children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis from school. Harry and Meghan, 41, were in their car as the brothers drove past each other, but then stopped, reversed, wound down their windows and chatted, according to the Sunday Times.
One royal insider said: “The family continue to be in mourning and are now finally being allowed to grieve for the Queen away from the gaze of millions.
“However, any talk of a truce between the Prince and the Duke would only be temporary.
“There is still a serious amount of distrust in the air and there hasn’t been any cause for that to change.
“The feeling is very much that there is little point in pursuing a repair in relations until all the cards are on the table.”
The Duke of Sussex’s memoir, which was due to be released in December, is set to be delayed because of the royal mourning period.
It is now likely to be published next year. Senior royals including the King and Prince William are said to be “increasingly uneasy” about the content of the book.
Harry and his wife Meghan have railed against their treatment by the monarchy in a series of bombshell interviews with American media.
Meghan also revealed in a recent podcast, as part of a £18million deal for streaming giant Spotify, how she had discovered her journal during her brief time as a working royal when clearing out their Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.
The Duchess, who was barely seen in public after the Queen’s passing, revealed how she and Harry were working on a historical documentary that would share their “love story” for Netflix.
In further comments that have infuriated royals, before the Queen’s death, Meghan added: “I’ve never had to sign anything that restricts me from talking.
“I have a lot to say until I don’t.”
Another royal insider added: “It’s very obvious that the family have far more important things to concern themselves with right now.” Harry and Meghan were yesterday preparing to fly back to California to be reunited with their two children, Archie, three, and one-year-old daughter Lilibet.
The couple are understood to have spent their entire time at Frogmore Cottage and did not appear in public apart from the scheduled Windsor appearance, after being invited at the 11th hour by William to take part “as a mark of respect for the Queen”.
The couple along with William and Kate, 40, viewed floral tributes together outside Windsor Castle.
However, at the Queen’s funeral and other major ceremonial events such as the Queen’s lying in state procession and the grandchildren’s vigil, Harry often appeared a solitary and dejected figure. He was even forced to travel alone up to Balmoral in a race to join the Queen in her final hours, but arrived three hours too late to say goodbye.
Sources have said the Princess of Wales and Meghan were “not known” to have exchanged words throughout the whole period that the Sussexes were in the UK.
Royal watchers had been hopeful of a resolution between the two brothers when they reunited in grief to pay tribute to their beloved grandmother last week. But their relationship remains near to rock bottom, according to sources.
In a moving scene reminiscent of past happier times for these once inseparable siblings, the images of the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex once more standing beside one another warmed a nation grieving for their lost Queen.
Sources last night, however, suggested that any hint of a rapprochement between the couples was “very unlikely”.
