Prince William’s Ski Vacation Likely Wasn’t ‘Deliberately Staged’ to Avoid Prince Harry — Expert
TL;DR:
- Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visited Queen Elizabeth II on their way to the Netherlands for the Invictus Games.
- Prince Harry met with other members of the British royal family but not his older brother, Prince William.
- An expert thinks Prince William’s ski vacation coinciding with Prince Harry’s visit wasn’t deliberate.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stopped in England to visit Queen Elizabeth II on their way to the Invictus Games. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t stay long but they managed to see the 95-year-old monarch and other royals. However, Harry’s older brother wasn’t one of them. Prince William‘s ski vacation with his family coincided with Harry and Meghan’s visit, according to royal expert Katie Nicholl. Was it deliberate? Nicholl thinks that while “people will read into” William’s ski vacation she’s of the opinion it wasn’t “staged.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were at Windsor Castle prior to the Invictus Games
Harry and Meghan made a stop in the U.K. on their way to the Hague, Netherlands, for the Invictus Games. On April 14, 2022, they stopped at Windsor Castle to visit Queen Elizabeth, a spokesperson confirmed after the fact.
“A Sussex spokesperson confirms that, prior to arriving in The Hague for @InvictusGamesNL, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan stopped in the UK this morning to visit the Queen,” royal commentator Omid Scobie tweeted. “It was a Windsor visit that their team recently revealed the duke ‘hoped to do.’”
Meanwhile, William’s ski vacation reportedly took place abroad. As Nicholl told ET, Harry and Meghan’s visit with Queen Elizabeth included Prince Charles. She also said they were in touch with Harry’s stepmother, Camilla Parker Bowles.
The visit was a significant one. It marked the first time Harry and Meghan returned to the U.K. together since stepping back from royal life.
An expert says Prince William ‘wasn’t going to change his holiday plans’
“I think people will read into William, perhaps, deliberately not being here in that same week that his brother was coming over,” Nicholl said, saying it didn’t seem like the main reason behind the family ski trip.
“I don’t think it was deliberately staged like that, personally, and I think William and Kate have a limited period of holiday,” she said. “Over Easter, they wanted to take the children skiing.”
“I think what wasn’t clear,” she continued, “was that once Harry’s trip was confirmed and it was all going ahead, William wasn’t going to change his holiday plans to come back or cut short his holiday in order to see his brother.”
So, in Nicholl’s opinion, William’s ski vacation went ahead as planned and the logistics simply didn’t work out.
William’s ski vacation is a reminder of the brothers’ ‘sticky relationship’
Nicholl also pointed out what happened in 2021. William and Harry unveiled a statue of their late mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace. One report said the Duke of Cambridge initially refused to attend. Ultimately, the 39-year-old father of three showed up. But he and Harry’s body language appeared forced to experts.
After the statue unveiling, William had a party for everyone involved. But according to Nicholl, Harry didn’t receive an invitation. “When William had a party over here last year to thank those that had been involved with the Diana statue, he didn’t actually invite Harry to that,” she said. “He didn’t ask him to come back over from the States for it.”
She continued, saying it demonstrated the state of Harry and William’s relationship. “I think that’s some indication as to how tense and how difficult that relationship is,” she said, describing it as a “sticky relationship.”
