Prince William has now reportedly ‘disowned’ his younger brother Harry following his numerous public attacks on the royal family – and he saw the opportunity to send his a clear message to his sibling with a powerful photograph
Prince William wanted to send a strong message to his younger brother with a telling royal photograph from which Prince Harry was noticeably absent.
The image in question was taken in December 2019 and showed the late Queen standing with then-Prince Charles, Prince William and little Prince George, her three heirs. At the time, The Times reported that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were upset by the photograph, which they saw as a “signal that they were being excluded from royal life”. And, according to royal historian Robert Lacey, William had found a way to utilise the picture.
In the book Battle of Brothers (via Us Weekly ), Lacey claimed that while the idea for the photo was then-Prince Charles’s, William wanted to use it to “send a message” to Harry. “According to insiders, this formal photograph, taken in the Buckingham Palace Throne Room a week before Christmas 2019, was the idea of Prince Charles, anxious to promote his cause of the ‘slimmed-down monarchy’. Palace sources have also let it be known that the plan of depicting the direct line of royal succession was enthusiastically supported by Prince William, who was not saying anything for the record — but who wanted to send his younger brother a message.”
Prince William and Prince Harry‘s royal feud is now common knowledge but there was a time when it was thought the two brothers were still as close as can be. But cracks started to show following the start of Harry’s romance with Meghan Markle , with William among those to voice concerns that the relationship was moving too fast. The couple went ahead and married in May 2018 and welcomed son Archie the following year. But by June 2019, Harry and Meghan announced they were leaving the joint charity they shared with Kate and William – and rumours began to swirl.
In October, everything exploded. Harry was asked about the reported feud during ITV’s documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey , and his answer was telling. “Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens,” Harry said. “But look, we’re brothers , we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”
He continued: ” We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but you know, I love him dearly. The majority of this stuff [in the press] is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days.” Of course, three months later, Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping down from the royal family . They subsequently gave a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey , in which they alleged racism within the royal family, and have gone on to make multiple criticisms of the monarchy – be it in their Netflix series or Harry’s book Spare .
His relationship with William has been left in tatters. The future King is said to have decided to ‘cut ties’ completely with his younger sibling. The BBC ‘s former royal correspondent Jennie Bond told Times Radio: “I think as far as William is concerned, Harry really doesn’t exist. William has enough pressure on his heart and his head, with his wife [ Princess of Wales ] and her ongoing cancer treatment, and his father [King Charles], his job and his kids that I don’t think he’s got any room in his soul to worry about his estranged brother… I think William has disowned Harry.”
