This isn’t a regular sibling fallout. It is a deep-rooted fracture filled with anger, resentment and a total loss of trust.
And much of it has played out in public.
The Prince of Wales remains in no mood to forgive and forget. The hurt he feels lingers.
“William is very stubborn,” a family friend told the . “To feel cheated by your own brother has been painful. He can’t just put it behind him.”
But in his interview with the last year, Harry offered a different view.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight any more.”
The problem for Prince William now is proximity. Harry will be in the UK within two weeks, probably a short drive away from Windsor where William’s family lives.
There will be pressure on the elder brother to take the lead, ease the pain and just make up with Harry now the siblings will be living in the same country.
“I think William doesn’t care about the pressure to reconcile,” said royal author, Valentine Low. “If he doesn’t want to reconcile with his brother because of the things he’s done, the wrongs that he feels Harry’s done to him, he’s not going to reconcile. But it does improve the chances I think.”
The Prince of Wales will prioritise his public work in the coming months and try not to get drawn into the drama around the UK return of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Several people from organisations who have worked with Prince William told News of their desire to support William and help avoid Harry and Meghan becoming a distraction.
One source, who has worked on charity projects with the Royal Family, described wanting to protect the future King.
“This is a hard situation for him full of emotion and anger and we will support him,” the source said. “It is really important for me to ensure that any work we do with William will be focused on making a positive change and won’t be affected by the Harry and Meghan drama.”