In his explosive new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, veteran royal biographer Omid Scobie said that the relationship between brothers Prince William and Prince Harry is beyond repair, and that “there’s no going back” from the damage already done, People reports.
The deep cracks in the relationship between the brothers was laid bare in Harry’s memoir, Spare, released this past January. Nearly a year later, “absolutely nothing has changed,” Scobie said. In fact, it has gotten worse, hardening into something “colder and more immovable,” People reports. They say the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s apathy; the brothers now share an indifference towards each other, both having seemingly accepted the relationship’s end.
“I saw Harry’s release of Spare as his last attempt at telling his family how he’s felt for years,” Scobie said. “Because clearly there’s never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings.”
The royal family is not necessarily known for its focus on feelings, but, as Scobie writes in Endgame, maybe more than any other point in history, the family is ignoring internal rifts to its own peril. “Part of the buy-in from the [British] public is that the royal family is the nation’s family,” Scobie said. And yet, according to the author, “heir-to-the-throne William has prioritized his loyalty to the monarchy, even quietly cooperating with the U.K. press to undermine Harry,” People writes.
“I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view,” Scobie said. “These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown.” He added of the rift, “There’s a real chance here to learn and adapt to modern society and also make up for mistakes of the past. It’s their move.”
In the book, Scobie writes that William believes Harry (and wife Meghan Markle) blindsided the family, even the late Queen, with their public complaints—an opinion he has repeatedly voiced in various ways to friends and aides over the past two years. The book details that William is convinced Harry has been brainwashed by an “army of therapists,” and that William no longer even recognizes his own brother.
As to the release of Spare—which largely takes aim at William himself—“There’s a huge amount of anger there,” a source told Scobie. “He feels betrayed and sad about the situation. But he also doesn’t agree with the things his brother feels he has done. He feels he has lost Harry and doesn’t want to know this version of him.” A Spencer family source (Spencer is the maiden name of William and Harry’s mother, Princess Diana) said that “this version” is “Harry being a man who has stepped outside of the institution and sees things in a different light. They will never see eye to eye at this point. They’re on completely opposite sides. That won’t change.”
As for Harry, a source speaking to Scobie for the book said, “Though he hasn’t found closure with his family, he’s accepted that things are unlikely to change, particularly with his brother—who refuses to even properly talk with him.” As Harry himself told a friend, “I’m ready to move on past it. Whether we get an apology or accountability, who knows? Who really cares at this point?”
Of whether sacrificing the relationship between brothers was worth it, Scobie said “These are probably sad realizations that will be had far too late in the journey. In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the Crown. His freedom to exert his own thinking outside of the confines of the institution has made him the enemy.”
That’s why, as Scobie summed it up harrowingly, when it comes to William and Harry, “there’s no going back.”
And as for King Charles and his younger son Harry? The two barely communicate, which causes the King great pain, OK reports. “There is undeniable anger at the anguish the King believes Harry caused the late Queen in the last years of her life, not to mention the insults he has heaped upon his own wife Camilla, of whom Charles is understandably protective,” royal editor Rebecca English wrote. “Charles is a man who notoriously hates confrontation and will never close the door on his younger son. But sticking to his guns, he has rejected Harry’s demands for an ‘apology’ and put the whole issue to one side for the time being as he concentrates on the business of state.”
