The heartache when siblings grow apart

The death of their mother Diana when they were so young brought princes William and Harry even closer together, which makes it more tragic to see them moving in different directions, writes

It wasn’t so long ago that they were collectively known as the Fab Four: the ambitious, photogenic and energetic quartet that were breathing new life in the musty monarchy. Somehow, Princes William and Harry and their respective wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, seemed all the more wonderful when they were together.

Yet it was a new era for the royals that proved short-lived, as rumours of a rift between the four began to surface.

And this weekend’s broadcast of the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey did little to suppress such rumours.

In a candid interview, Harry was asked about whether the rumours of tension were true.

“Part of this role, part of this job and this family being under the pressure it is under, inevitably stuff happens,” he replied.

“But look, we are brothers, we will always be brothers. We are certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him and, as I know, he will always be there for me.”

He added: “We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we are so busy but I love him dearly and the majority of stuff is created out of nothing. As brothers, you have good days, you have bad days.”

Despite Buckingham Palace downplaying the reports, speculation about the state of William and Harry’s relationship has been a long time growing.

A year ago, the Sunday Times reported that the princes were actively ditching the double act that they’ve long enjoyed since boyhood. Both princes put into place a division of their Kensington Palace household, resulting in Harry and Meghan decamping to, and famously revamping, Frogmore Cottage.

It was rumoured that both brothers now work with separate staff and offices and on separate charities, with one source telling the newspaper: “There is a gulf in the style and approach to the type of work that William and Kate will increasingly do as future head of state and consort, and Harry and Meghan, who have more of a blank canvas with their roles… William and Harry’s double act has naturally been supplanted by the two couples and their families… They have become different people with different outlooks on life. Splitting the household is the obvious thing to do.”

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith then appeared to confirm this to Vanity Fair: “I had heard that a division might be on the cards, and that it had a lot to do with Meghan — not in a negative way, but that Meghan and Harry’s interests were moving in different directions (from William and Kate’s).”