ROYALS DIVIDED Drama in the palace
William the future king takes control as a new crisis envelopes the monarchy
On November 27, Harry and Meghan celebrated the second anniversary of their engagement announcement by posting three photos – an engagement announcement pic, an unseen wedding pic and their first official photo call with Archie – on the Sussex Royal Instagram account. It was a reminder of what had seemed like the start of a fairytale. The popular prince who had endured tragedy when his mother Princess Diana had died in a 1997 car crash (and had taken a few eyebrowraising detours along the way) looked set to live his happily-ever-after. The couple, along with William and Kate, were dubbed the Fab Four and, with public sentiment towards them at an all-time high, seemed poised to usher in new era for the modern monarchy.
Fast-forward a couple of years and the outlook is less rosy. After months of tension – culminating in a heart-wrenching interview in which Harry acknowledged he and his brother William are “certainly on different paths at the moment” – the royal family finds itself plagued by scandal with William left largely in charge of damage control.
On the heels of a horror run of headlines, on November 30, William and Kate posted some positivity, sharing on Instagram news of their Christmas cooking show with Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry. The couple are set to star in the BBC1 special airing December 16, whipping up a Christmas feast for people connected to their charities. The wholesome promotional images – Kate icing cupcakes! William in an apron! — show how the future king and queen handle hard times – with a strong work ethic and stiff upper lip.
Following his uncle Prince Andrew’s recent car-crash Newsnight
interview regarding his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his subsequent withdrawal from public duties and 230 patronages, William is set to pick up the slack, stepping up his workload. “The Andrew crisis has definitely strengthened Prince Charles’ desire for a slimmed-down monarchy,” Brittani Barger, deputy editor of Royal Central, told UK’s The Sun. “When it’s all said and done, the monarchy will be Charles and his children and grandchildren.” It’s a move backed by Charles’ eldest son as the Queen hands many of her duties to her heir, Prince Charles, 71, with William sliding in behind him. “William is becoming more and more involved in decisions about the institution,” a source told UK’s Sunday Times. “And he’s not a huge fan of his uncle Andrew.”
As William and Kate, both 37, are moving further into their future roles at the top of the monarchy, those close to the couple say both Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are struggling with ongoing feelings of isolation from the rest of the family. “William is the future king,” a palace source tells WHO. “There is going to [be] some competitiveness between him and Harry. That already puts a rock in the relationship.” Following the pair’s candid revelations in October in ITV’s documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, about struggling with tabloid rumours and fierce media scrutiny, a source says “eyes are open” about their emotional distress and yet the relationship between the couple and the rest of the royal family has not grown any closer as a result. “There hasn’t been this complete 180,” a source tells WHO. “Nothing has changed. They don’t speak, no-one is checking in, no-one is texting.” It was in that same documentary that Harry – who has taken legal action against UK tabloids for
what he described as a “ruthless campaign” against his wife – hinted at the ongoing rift between him and his brother. “Inevitably stuff happens,” he explained. “But we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers … I’ll always be there for him and as I know, he’ll always be there for me. The majority of stuff is created out of nothing. As brothers, we have good days and we have bad days.”
Despite some competitiveness between William and Harry, sources insist there is none between their wives. “Meghan is very aware that Kate will be queen; their roles are very clear,” the source says. However, there is also little common ground. “Meghan doesn’t fit the mould, while Kate was groomed for this,” says the source, who adds Meghan was a “fully formed person” when she joined the royal family, while Kate was at university when she met William. “What’s challenging is when they are pitted against each other,” says the source. “That’s been challenging to both of them.”
Raising their families in the spotlight, the couples take differing approaches. “William and Kate toe the line, maybe because they have to,” says the source. “But Harry and Meghan are trying to carve out a different sort of public life and reset the rules.” Case in point: the couple are taking a rare six-week break amid family stress and tabloid scrutiny and will skip Christmas at Sandringham. “William and Kate are somewhat relieved that they won’t be at Sandringham,” a friend told Closer magazine. “William does, however, feel that it’ll be strange not having his brother around.”
As Harry and Meghan take time off to regroup, there’s still hope for a happy ending: “Just on a human level, if you take everything else out of the equation, I don’t think they’re in very good shape to deal with anything right now,” a friend tells WHO. “Everyone is hoping that they will come back from this break stronger than ever.”
“William is becoming more involved” —a source