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TL;DR: 

  • Prince Harry and Prince William are different people with unique personalities.
  • According to a royal author, they “never got along particularly well” despite appearances to the contrary.
  • A commentator says it’s unlikely the brothers will see each other when Prince William’s Earthshot Prize heads to Boston, Mass., in December 2022.

Prince Harry and Prince William friends? Before a supposed rift led to them barely speaking, they certainly seemed chummy. Or, at least, it appeared as such when they laughed and joked in public. However, according to a royal author, that wasn’t necessarily the case. The Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge were never actually that friendly.

Prince William and Prince Harry are reportedly ‘very unalike’

William and Harry are each their own person. They have their own personalities and quirks. As a source close to the royal family told Newsweek in 2017, they’re very different. 

“Emotionally, they are very unalike,” the source said. They described Harry as wearing “his heart on his sleeve.” Meanwhile, William’s “introverted and reclusive.” 

“They are bonded together by the unique position they are in and the experience of losing their mother very young,” they said. (William and Harry were 15 and 12 respectively when Princess Diana died at the age of 36 in August 1997.)

Additionally, the source said they didn’t spend a lot of time together as the years went on. “They don’t live in each other’s pockets, and while William was at university, they didn’t see much of each other at all.”

William and Harry ‘never got along particularly well,’ according to a royal author

Prince Harry and Prince William, who were never good friends according to a royal author, stand with their backs to each other
Prince Harry and Prince William | Dominic Lipinski/Pool/AFP

The “royal feud” or “royal rift” took a turn when William and Harry appeared to be the ones at odds, not Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Harry first commented on the state of his relationship with his brother in October 2019. 

Speaking to Tom Bradby for ITV’s documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, he described them as being “on different paths.” The now-37-year-old also shared that “as brothers,” there are “good days” and bad days.” 

Although, according to author and royal expert Ingrid Seward, it’s not exactly unusual for William and Harry. She told the U.K.’s Mirror, per Express, “despite appearing to do so, the two boys never got along particularly well.”

“They sat together for TV interviews on their joint causes joshing with each other, but they were never very good friends,” she said. 

A royal comment says it’s highly unlikely they’ll see each other when Prince William’s Earthshot Prize heads to Boston

Prince Harry and Prince William, who 'were never really good friends,' smile as they walk next together
Prince Harry and Prince William | Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
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So a royal author says William and Harry aren’t friends. Now what? Will they get together when William’s Earthshot Prize awards take place in Boston, Mass., come December 2022? 

“It’s not going to happen,” royal commentator Richard Eden told the Mail on Sunday before recalling the events of Platinum Jubilee weekend

“William and Harry were in the same cathedral, St Paul’s in London, and they were kept apart for the whole time,” Eden said, referring to a church service honoring Queen Elizabeth II. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat in the second row across the aisle from Kate, William, and other senior royals. The couples made their entrances and exits without them crossing paths. Afterward, as Eden noted, “they didn’t meet up once while Harry and Meghan were in London.”