‘At his funeral’: Brutal new Harry, William claim

A friend of the future King’s has painted a picture of just how bleak his relationship with “estranged” brother Harry has become.

Prince William is unlikely to see his brother in the flesh again until the day of their father’s funeral, according to a royal source.

In an interview with the Daily Beast, a friend of the future King also confirmed recent widespread reports that he has no intention of inviting Prince Harry to his coronation as things are “totally frozen” between them.

“Why would William and Kate want all the distraction and circus that his presence would bring? I suspect that William will see Harry one more time in his life in the flesh — at their father’s funeral,” they said bluntly.

“It is hard to overstate how utterly William feels betrayed and hurt on a very personal level. The two brothers were so close growing up that they would finish each other’s sentences.

“Amid all the trauma of their mum dying and their dad being quite distant, it was an amazing thing to witness.

“Reading Harry’s book, I was really struck by how honest he was about the depth and the importance of his relationship with William when they were younger. It makes his decision to basically sell out his entire family, but particularly William, for a bumper payday even more inexplicable.”

The four royals last saw each other in person when the late Queen passed away. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The royal source also rubbished Harry’s assertion that Spare was written in order to explain first-hand why he’d felt he had to quit royal duties.

“I’m afraid I don’t believe that the primary motivation was that noble,” the insider told the publication.

An ex-Buckingham Palace staffer also confirmed to the Daily Beast that planning for the Prince of Wales’ coronation “is well underway”, in keeping with royal protocol, and that “there are no plans to invite Harry”.

The former aide added: “It’s hardly surprising when you look at how poisoned the well has become.”

The brothers’ relationship was reportedly often rocky in their teenage and adult years, as detailed by Harry himself in Spare, but it became increasingly strained after the Sussexes quit royal duties.

Their subsequent 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, Netflix docu-series, and Harry’s explosive memoir, reportedly caused William and Kate to completely sever ties.

As a source told the UK’s Sunday Times recently: “They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad.”

The latest development comes just days after it emerged that William was furious by Harry’s decision to call his wife “Kate” in his public message of support following her cancer diagnosis earlier this year.

Harry previously had a good relationship with his sister-in-law. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

It’s understood the Princess of Wales, who was widely known as Kate during her younger years, let it be known just prior to her and William’s wedding she would henceforth prefer to be called Catherine.

While friends and family reportedly heeded the request, the “Kate” moniker had more broadly stuck by the time she made the change – and so she’s still often called it by members of the public and mainstream media outlets.

After she announced her cancer diagnosis in an emotional statement in March, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a public statement, which read: “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”

But according to the Daily Beast, William took offence to their refusal to call his wife Catherine, “even when they were sending her get-well-soon messages”, with a friend of the future King’s revealing he found it to be “an entirely unnecessary and deliberate irritation.

“The fact that Harry and Meghan were unable to bring themselves to use her chosen name, even when they were sending her get-well-soon messages after her cancer diagnosis, was noted,” the insider said.

“William takes offence at people calling Catherine ‘Kate,’ because she has asked to be known as Catherine. It’s a fairly simple wish to respect. I’m sure Meghan wouldn’t like it if William started publicly calling her ‘Meghan Markle.’

“Of course it’s an utterly trivial thing, but those of us who know William know that it is one of the things that pushes his buttons. Pushing his buttons while he was going through his wife’s cancer seemed an entirely unnecessary and deliberate irritation.”

Meanwhile, another friend of the Wales’ added that it was a lack of courtesy which added to the brothers’ already fractured relationship.

“No-one’s saying it’s responsible for all the trouble, but deliberately calling someone by a name they don’t like is just bloody rude. If Harry and Meghan were serious about healing their issue, a good first step would be to call her Catherine.”

Originally published as ‘At his funeral’: Brutal new Harry, William claim