Prince Harry snubbed Prince William 's offer of a secret summit to heal their rift, a royal expert claims in a new book.
The attempt by the new Prince of Wales to reach out to his brother reportedly came several months before 'Megxit' when he gave a worrying television interview during a tour of South Africa.
Harry and Meghan famously told ITV 's Tom Bradby back in 2019 that they were "struggling" with some of the pressures of life as working royals, with a bombshell moment revealing that their sibling bond was experiencing "good days" and "bad days".
While William was said at the time to be "furious" with his brother's comments, royal commentator Valentine Low now claims he was eager to talk things over by arranging a secret meeting in the days that followed.
Harry was initially said to be open to the offer - but turned him down after growing concerned that news of their rendezvous would be leaked by royal staff.
In an extract from his new book 'Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind The Crown' seen by MailOnline, Valentine writes : " The day after the documentary aired, William WhatsApped his brother to ask if he could come and see him.
"This put Harry and Meghan into a spin. What should they do?
"Initially, Harry was in favour. Then he spoke to his brother again, and asked him whom he would tell. William explained that he'd have to clear his schedule, which would mean telling his private secretary. At that point, Harry told him: Don't come.
"He was so concerned that William's team would leak the visit to the Press that he would rather not see his brother than risk it getting into the papers."
The book adds that the failure to meet face-to-face came as "heartbreaking" news to people close to both brothers, and highlighted how some members of The Firm had come to find it difficult to communicate directly amid high levels of scrutiny.
Elsewhere in the book, Valentine makes the shocking claim that Meghan Markle threatened to break-up with Prince Harry if he didn’t announce publicly that she was his girlfriend.
In the run-up to the public announcement of their relationship in November 2016, the Duchess of Sussex reportedly told him she would break off the relationship "if he did not do something about it", causing Harry to become stressed.
"A source said: 'She was saying, 'If you don’t put out a statement confirming I’m your girlfriend, I’m going to break up with you.'' Harry was in a panic."
