Prince Harry's UK return tests estranged bond with William amid royal family crisis

Prince Harry's planned return to the UK with Meghan Markle and their two children will test whether years of estrangement from his elder brother Prince William can be overcome, with the siblings not speaking despite their father's illness.

The Duke of Sussex is preparing to move back to Britain in the coming weeks, setting up what palace observers see as a pivotal moment for the fractured relationship between the two princes. Their father King Charles' cancer diagnosis, announced in February 2024, has so far failed to bridge the divide between William, 44, and Harry, 41.

A Relationship Torn Apart

The brothers—labeled "the heir and the spare" from childhood—have been unable to resolve their differences despite the health crisis facing the monarch. Their relationship as adults has been "ripped apart by anger and hurt," a sharp contrast to the unified front they presented as children grieving their mother Princess Diana.

Diana had extracted a promise from her sons to always support one another, but nearly three decades after her 1997 death, that bond has collapsed. The last documented occasion when William and Harry appeared together was in September 2022 during events surrounding Queen Elizabeth's death.

No Reconciliation Despite Crisis

Even the gravity of Charles' cancer treatment, made public in February of last year, has not prompted the brothers to reconcile. The pair remain alienated despite what might have been expected to serve as a catalyst for family unity.

With Harry, Meghan, and their children preparing to establish a presence in the UK again, attention will focus sharply on whether proximity can achieve what distance and family crisis could not—a restoration of ties between the two princes.

Source: South China Morning Post