Our columnist Dawn Neesom has her say
Harry and William need reminding that life is too short for feuds
Picture the predicament. You have a choice between only ever seeing and talking to either your partner or your only sibling again. Your lover or your brother? Your mister or your sister?
This is the very conundrum facing royal brothers William and Harry. And make no mistake – the gulf between them is genuinely huge, wounds have been inflicted that will never be healed.
What would their mother say? Her greatest joy was that each of her sons would always have the other to guide them through the rigours of palace life. What is happening now would break her heart. As, I’m pretty sure, that it is the hearts of the two lads who once, devastatingly, had to walk together behind their mum’s coffin.
Prince or pauper, family is family. This one hits home particularly for me.
My mum was an only child, something she’s felt sad about her whole life. My dad was one of 10. Dad and his siblings fell out regularly and he could happily go for years without talking to one or the other.
Mum always found this appalling. For her, having a sister or a brother was a gift that should be cherished. When Dad had a row with one of his sisters, Mum would be there, acting as peacemaker. It’s a lesson she’s drummed into my sister and me. No matter what happens, we should never forget that we’re sisters and should always be there for one another.
Thankfully my sister and my husband get on like a house on fire – especially if there’s a bottle of gin involved. And I love her hubby too.
But if the worst happened and I had to choose, husband or sibling? Even with a gun to my head, I just know I couldn’t. Could you?
Life’s too short for turning a drama into crisis, so all any of us can do is hope that William and Harry find some kind of solution and peace.
The old saying goes that blood is thicker than water, but is it thicker than a wedding band? Or gin, for that matter?
‘Life’s too short for turning a drama into crisis’