When Prince Harry’s love affair with Meghan Markle was first revealed in October 2016, it would set in motion a chain of events that would rock the royal family to its core.
Although he was known as the “fun-loving” prince, he was understandably scarred by the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash when he was just 12. Now with Meghan at his side, and his naturally protective nature, he felt he was reliving that nightmare and believed that the media had his fiancée in their sights.
Losing his mother had sent an emotional Harry on a series of drug and drink-fuelled nights out in his teens. William, in contrast, publicly put on a show of dignified strength. His relationship with Kate helped him cope with his loss. William had met her at St Andrews University and on the late Queen’s urging had courted her for many years, so that she knew the “Windsor way”.
He urged his brother Harry to be cautious before committing himself to a life with Meghan. Even when Harry said that he wanted to marry her, William apparently told him: “She’s an American actress after all, Harold, anything might happen.”
William knew that even before meeting Meghan, Harry had been obsessed with the idea of marrying and settling down. Out of the blue, Charles announced that he couldn’t afford to pay for Meghan as well as for Camilla, and for William, Kate and their young family. It left Harry incandescent. As his wedding approached, he became aware of what he thought were slights against him and his bride-to-be.
Meghan’s introduction to William and his wife at Kensington Palace had left the Suits actress with the impression that Kate was stand-offish. And then there was the spat over a bridesmaid’s dress for Princess Charlotte. William and Kate noticed that Harry seemed to be on edge. Members of the bride and groom’s entourage also noted that the prince had become “petulant and short-tempered”. Harry, for his part, was convinced that William didn’t approve of his choice of bride.
The once close bond between the siblings was disintegrating. Charles was baffled. He welcomed Meghan into “the Firm” and pronounced himself captivated by her intelligence and vivacious personality.
Attempts to reunite the two couples, dubbed “the Fab Four”, failed. William’s idea to put on a show of unity at Windsor for their late grandmother was a good one. His wife was nervous but agreed.
She privately admitted later to a senior royal that, such was the ill-feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout after the Queen’s death was one of the hardest things that she has had to do.
And this was even before Harry published Spare, the autobiography that not only revealed family secrets but laid bare his resentment of his brother.
It was even before the Netflix docu- series and TV interviews in which he slammed the royal institution and his family. If Kate found it tricky then, before all the revelations and half truths, what is the state of play now?
I am told that while the King is open to a reconciliation — or at least to open a discussion with Harry — other senior royals including Camilla and William are less inclined to be conciliatory.
A source said: “His Majesty loves his sons equally. He is delighted that Prince Harry is attending the Coronation. But his focus will be on the Coronation. Any thoughts of reconciliation is for another day.”
