With the rift between the Sussexes and the Royal Family still ever present, royal watchers have long speculated what lies in store for Harry and Meghan when William ascends the throne
Prince William and Prince Harry have been estranged for several years, with their relationship reportedly souring in the years and months before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit their royal duties in 2020.
After Harry and Meghan relocated to the United States, the relationship between the royal brothers deteriorated. As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex started to unleash secrets and allegations against the Royal Family, starting with their bombshell Oprah interview in 2021, it was reported that William cut off all contact with his brother. The public jabs against the Firm from Harry and Meghan continued, with their Netflix docuseries and Harry’s memoir Spare.
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Harry himself has acknowledged the impact of his public barbs against his family, telling the BBC earlier this year that “some members of my family will never forgive me” for what he said about how he and Meghan were treated when they were working royals.
While the couple still hold their titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex despite not being working royals, the public have occasionally called for Harry and Meghan to be stripped of their titles amid their public airing of the Royal Family’s secrets.
One source told HELLO! Magazine that “ there is zero trust,“ as the family believes “private conversations with Harry are not possible.” Even someone sympathetic to Harry admitted to the publication: “He sees things everywhere, he picks battles with everybody and that’s tiring. You can’t live in permanent battle mode. You’re a 40-year-old man. You’ve got to stop fighting the world.”
Despite the years long rift, Harry made moves to make amends this year when he met with his father King Charles for a private tea in Clarence House during a brief trip to the UK for the WellChild awards. While Harry had less than an hour with his father, he did not see William during the whirlwind trip to his home country.
Rumours have long claimed that William has no interest in seeing Harry due to the claims he made in Spare, which also called out Princess Kate. As Harry made numerous allegations that the Prince and Princess of Wales were less than welcoming to Meghan Markle, William seems to be keeping his distance for the foreseeable future.
This begs the question of what will happen to Harry and Meghan’s royal titles when William inevitably becomes King. While stripping a royal of their titles is not simple, it is definitely possible, as has been recently demonstrated with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
William has spoken candidly about his plans for when he ascends the throne, telling Eugene Levy earlier this year during an appearance on The Reluctant Traveller that “change is on the horizon”. Given how personal the feud seems, you have to wonder: would William strip their titles out of principle?
It’s almost hard to believe how far Harry and William have drifted apart, considering how close they once were. For years, the brothers were each other’s rocks – famously bonded by the tragedy of losing their mother, Princess Diana in 1997, when they were just 15 and 12.
They went through thick and thin together: royal engagements, military service, and of course, the pressures of growing up in the public eye. But things have certainly changed.
For now, we can only speculate. But with Harry still battling over security in the UK and the family reportedly unwilling to budge, the gap only seems to be widening. And if that’s the case, the Sussex titles might not be so safe under King William’s reign.
