Royal ruckus: How sibling rivalry broke a unique bond

William and Harry’s relationship was feisty but loving, until simmering tensions erupted, writes Kerry Parnell.

“The saddest part of it was this wedge created between me and my brother, so that he’s now on the institution’s side,” Prince Harry said in the second part of his Netflix documentary.

Speaking on Harry & Meghan, which aired on Thursday, the Duke of Sussex was open about the disintegration of his relationship with Prince William, attacking the Palace for being “happy to lie to protect my brother.”

Harry outlined how he believes his brother’s office would brief against him and Meghan. “To see my brother’s office copy the very same thing that we promised the two of us would never ever do, that was heartbreaking,” he said. He described the Sandringham summit in 2020, where he proposed his blueprint for his and Meghan’s future: “It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me.”

While the Prince of Wales has not made any response, royal watchers think it unlikely the brief rapprochement seen in September at the Queen’s funeral will be repeated. So, how did the pair, who have supported each other through so much, get to this point? “Like all the most destructive royal tales from Richard I to Edward VIII, sibling rivalry lies at its heart,” writes UK Telegraph royal correspondent Camilla Tominey.

Certainly, the pair has battled in the past – royal biographer Tina Brown says the brothers began to compete years before Harry met Meghan, over work.

Different paths.... Britain's Prince Harry and Prince William. (Photo by Dominic Lipinski / POOL / AFP)

“Friction between the brothers escalated over their professional alignments. William knew he had to be respectful of hierarchy when it came to his father’s ownership of the environmental platform, but he was less willing to accede to his brother,” she writes, in The Palace Papers, describing the duo as having, “Olympic rows”. Harry felt William was “hogging the best briefs”.

The Duke of Sussex referenced the competitiveness in the documentary, saying they were viewed as, “stealing the limelight” by the rest of the Royal Family.

William and Harry’s relationship has always been feisty, but up until now, loving. William was known for his fiery temper – when Camilla married Charles, she confided to friends she was surprised by William’s volatile outbursts, and Harry was infamous for his partying. Diana wrote once: “Harry is constantly in trouble,” at school.

When details emerged in 2002 of teenage Harry’s drink and drugs use, Charles took him to a rehab clinic for a day. But it transpired William had converted the basement of Highgrove into a den the boys called Club H, complete with sound system and booze and Harry joined in the partying with his older brother. Rudderless, post Diana’s death, William and Harry were simply there for each other. The loss of their mother, William said in 2018, made them, “uniquely bonded because of what we’ve been through”.

Better times.... Harry and William share a joke back in 2003.

It’s a story with parallels to the Queen and Princess Margaret – but with a very different ending. The Queen was known to be calm and stoic, accepting of her royal duty. Margaret was wild, outgoing and unpredictable. “Disobedience is my joy,” she once said.

They also came to crisis when Margaret wanted to marry divorcee Peter Townsend and was blocked by her sister. In 1955, given the ultimatum of marrying and giving up her royal title, she chose to stay. For Margaret, the “institution” Harry references, was more important and she remained dutiful to both it and her sister.

The brothers’ bond seemed unbreakable – in 2008, when Prince Harry was brought home from a tour of Afghanistan because his security had been compromised by a magazine story, William stepped in to help.

Broken bond... the brothers pictured earlier this year. (Photo by ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS / POOL / AFP)

“ I saw with my own eyes, the closeness of the relationship between the two brothers,” Miguel Head, who worked for the UK’s Ministry of Defence and later as the brothers’ press secretary, said.

“It was simply a brother realising that at that point nothing was more important than his welfare.”

Welfare was central to the brothers’ working relationship – they launched The Royal Foundation in 2009 and Heads Together mental health campaign in 2016, both outspoken and honest about their emotional journeys.

But cracks began to appear when the “Awesome Foursome” appeared at the The Royal Foundation Forum in 2018 and admitted to having disagreements. “Working as family does have its challenges,” Harry said.

“But we’re stuck together for the rest of our lives so …” It turned out they weren’t and by the time the pair made their Megxit in 2020, the brothers’ bond was broken.