Prince Harry has reportedly found it “difficult” to occasionally be in the company of Prince William for the past week.
The two brothers, who have been estranged for several years, have been forced to spend time together since their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, died on September 8.
A source close to Harry told the Sunday Times in London that while it was “uncomfortable” for the brothers to be in each other’s company, “everyone is doing their best”.
The Prince of Wales, 40, and the Duke of Sussex, 38, delighted royal fans last week as they joined their respective wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, to look at floral tributes and cards laid outside Windsor Castle in honor of the late monarch.
However, the outing was marked by awkward body language from both Markle, 41, and Middleton, 40, who seemed awkward during their reunion.
On Tuesday, the former “Fab Four” appeared to be united as they sat down for dinner with other members of the royal family after receiving Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
On Saturday evening, they also stood guard with their cousins at the coffin of the deceased monarch.
Prince Harry wore his military uniform after receiving special permission from King Charles III. He had previously been forced to wear civilian clothes at public events since the Queen died because he was stripped of his military titles when he resigned from his royal duties in 2020.
However, the Duke was said to be “devastated” when he found his grandmother’s initials “ER” stripped from his shoulder onto his uniform.
“He is devastated,” a friend told the Sunday Times in London. “It feels very intentional to remove his grandmother’s initials.”
The two brothers also shared a brief encounter earlier this week when William – who was picking up the children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis from school – drove past his brother and Markle while they were in a separate car. They reportedly drove past each other, but then stopped, turned back and rolled down their windows for a brief chat.
Despite this chance meeting, the truce seems temporary.
A friend of the brothers revealed that the joint performances “take effort” and they both understood the need to show “solidarity”.
“I don’t think it goes much further than that. There have been some awkward moments this week,” the source told the Sunday Times in London. “I definitely don’t get the sense of a deeper, meaningful rapprochement or the sense that this is it: things will be fixed.”
The brother’s relationship has been frosty since 2019, when Harry said in an interview that he and William were “certainly on different paths right now.”
Relations further declined when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – who left royal life in 2020 and moved to California – sat down for a great interview with Oprah Winfrey last year.
Markle recently gave an interview in which she claimed that she and Harry “disrupted the hierarchy … just by existing.”
She also fired a warning shot at the palace, noting, “I’ve never had to sign anything to stop me from talking…I’ve got a lot to say until I don’t.”
Harry will also have a memoir early next year that is said to be full of truth bombs.
“There’s a lot of new stories in it about the past that Harry hasn’t talked about before, about his childhood,” a source told Vidak For Congress, adding: “There’s content in there that should make his family nervous. “
Friends of Harry previously shared that while his brotherly relationship is still raw, he couldn’t be happier or more fulfilled by his family dynamic with Markle and their children, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.
Sources close to him also told the aforementioned outlet that his recent return to the UK and the Royal Family brings a ache of “regret over a missed opportunity of what could have been” and regrets that “it didn’t have to be so ugly.”