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TL;DR:

  • What Prince Harry said about his brother in that infamous chat with Oprah
  • The Duke of Cambridge’s friend says after the interview William was “as low as I’d ever seen him.”
  • The princes haven’t seen each other much over the last year.
Prince William and Prince Harry arrive for the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana
Prince William and Prince Harry arrive for the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of their mother Diana | Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images

It’s been more than a year since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s primetime special in which they sat down with Oprah Winfrey and discussed their time as senior royals. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made shocking allegations and painted some members of the royal family in a terrible light.

Now, a new book is detailing how what Harry said in the televised interview really affected his older brother, Prince William.

What Prince Harry told Oprah about Prince William and their relationship

During the CBS special, the Sussexes laid into the royal family accusing one member of making racist remarks about the color of Archie’s skin and alleging that Meghan was denied help when she had suicidal thoughts. Harry also spoke about the state of his relationship with his older sibling.

“I love William to bits. We’ve been through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths,” Harry said, adding, “The relationship is space at the moment and time heals all things, hopefully.”

Oprah Winfrey sitting across from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as she interviews them for CBS special
Oprah Winfrey sitting across from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle as she interviewed them for their CBS special which aired in the U.S. on March 7, 2021 | Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images

William’s friend reveals Harry’s interview really affected him

Royal author Robert Hardman spoke to people close to Prince William who described how the Duke of Cambridge felt after Harry did that interview.

The Express noted that in an extract from his book Queen Of Our Times: The Life Of Elizabeth II, Hardman wrote: “For Prince William, there was the added anguish of seeing the younger brother whom he had protected (and who had idolized him) now throwing incendiary and, in some cases, unanswerable charges into the public domain, fully aware of their likely impact.”

Some royal fans have accused the Sussexes of deliberately trying to take down the monarchy with their explosive claims. Whether or not that was their true intention, it didn’t work but it was still damaging and left many questioning some royals including William who was asked if the family is racist.

“William,’ says one friend, ‘was as low as I’d ever seen him,'” Hardman noted.

How many times the brothers have seen each other in the last year

Prince William and Prince Harry pull a green cloth away to reveal a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana
Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue of Princess Diana | DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
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Since moving to California in 2020, Prince Harry has only been back to the U.K. twice.

The first time was one month after the interview aired when the Duke of Sussex had to face his family to attend Prince Philip’s funeral. The second time was in the garden at Kensington Palace when he unveiled a statue of Princess Diana that he and his brother commissioned. According to a body language expert, it was obvious the latter day that William did not want to interact with his younger brother even as Harry tried to engage him.

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