Prince William Was Reportedly Jealous of Prince Harry’s ‘Loveable Rogue Reputation,’ Expert Claims
Prince Harry admitted in a 2019 interview that there was tension between him and brother Prince William, but he didn’t provide any details beyond simply having “good days … and bad days.” Author Robert Lacey has written a new book about the feuding between the princes and believes that jealousy played a part from the time they were young boys.
Prince Harry admitted the feud rumors were true
During an interview for the 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Prince Harry was asked about the rumors of a rift between him and Prince William. His answer was somewhat surprising.
“Part of this role and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it’s under … inevitably, you know, stuff happens,” Prince Harry explained.
He assure that, despite any friction, they’ll always have a family bond. “But, look, we’re brothers. We’ll always be brothers. We’re 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 said.
Part of the fracture, he explained, came down to them having their own lives and seeing each other less, but he assured, “but I love him dearly.” He added, “The majority of stuff is created out of nothing. But as brothers, you have good days and you have bad days.”
The brothers had different personalities
In speaking with ET about his book Battle of Brothers: William and Harry — The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, author Lacey shed more light on the princes’ childhood and some of the factors that played into their eventual rift.
“One of the objectives of the book is to go back into the past of these two boys, into their childhoods, to see the way in which their lives were shaped, cruelly really, by the breakdown of their parents’ marriage and by the royal roles and distortion that was placed upon them,” Lacey explained.
Lacey further explored the differences in the boys’ personalities. “You know, I describe how when they were born, it was William who was the rambunctious character and it was Harry who was the good little boy who sucked his thumb,” he shared. “Then William discovers that he’s going to be king, he becomes much more serious and quiet between the age of six or seven. Harry goes the other way.”
Was jealousy to blame for the brotherly friction?
Jealousy certainly could have been involved as well. “I talked to Ken Wolf, who was the bodyguard to Harry and William when they were little boys,” Lacey said. “And he said how William was always sort of jealous of the lovable rogue reputation that Harry had and the affection that he generated.”
That jealousy may have carried forward into their adult lives as well. “And there is certainly a school of thought that William and [his wife] Kate were not happy at the way in which these royal rock stars, Harry and Meghan, overshadowed them, and that they’re quite happy now to have seen them out of the country,” Lacey added.
