Kate Middleton cancer diagnosis: Prince William, Prince Harry ‘fell out years before Megxit’

As Prince William retreats with his wife Princess Catherine after her shock cancer diagnosis, claims about the long-running rift have re-emerged.

It’s the long-running royal rift that not even Princess Catherine’s shock cancer diagnosis can mend.

Amid reports that Prince William has further distanced himself from Prince Harry after his younger brother allegedly reached out to him privately following Catherine’s cancer video message, claims about the long-running rift have re-emerged.

Royal biographer Robert Lacey, who examined the pair’s volatile relationship in his 2020 book Battle of Brothers, said the pair fell out decades before the dramatic fallout of Megxit.

Prince Harry wanted out of the royal family long before meeting Meghan Markle, it has been claimed. Picture: Getty Images

As reported in The Sun, Mr Lacey claimed William and Harry have actually been on “no speaks” on and off for the past 20 years.

Their relationship began to go sour in 2002 when a young Prince Harry was discovered to be smoking cannabis, Mr Lacey wrote in his book.

Harry felt he took the blame for the scandal and the “wild antics” of his friendship group when “the real ringleader was William”.

Adding to the scandal, Harry caused global outrage three years later when he was pictured wearing a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.

In his tell-all memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex sensationally put some of the blame on William and Catherine for the Nazi uniform fiasco, claiming they “howled with laugher” when they saw his outfit.

The brothers have had “no speaks” on and off for decades, a royal expert says. Picture: Getty Images

Prince Harry, with his father and Prince William in 2005, harboured feelings of resentment towards his brother long before Megxit. Picture: Getty Images

Mr Lacey wrote: “Meghan was not the original factor in Prince Harry’s decision to get shot of his family.

“In January 2005 following the ‘Colonials and Natives’ costume fiasco, we now know that Prince Harry was drawn to re-evaluate his elder brother’s involvement and the unfairness of William’s emergence smelling of roses.

“It made Harry feel alienated. Friends recall “no speaks” and quite a serious rift between the brothers at the time – as there had been after the ‘Drugs Shame’ of 2002, when Harry had first started to realise the price of playing the functional scapegoat.”

Mr Lacey concluded: “It was the function of the elder brother to be perfect whether he truly was or was not and it was the function of the younger one to make the rest of us laugh or complain or feel disapproving – and at all events to make us feel thoroughly superior to the poor clueless kid.

“This was the role that all of us shaped for Prince Harry over the years.”

ROYAL WHO CAN HELP HEAL WILLIAM, HARRY RIFT

William’s response to brother Harry’s text amid Catherine’s cancer diagnosis revelation was allegedly “engineered by the palace” and “not a warm exchange”.

The Californian-based Duke of Sussex had contacted his older brother after the Princess of Wales revealed she had been diagnosed with cancer following abdominal surgery.

Harry and his wife Meghan Markle “reached out privately” to the Waleses following a statement in which they wished the ailing Catherine “health and healing”.

Princess Catherine’s cancer diagnosis sent shockwave around the world. Picture: Getty Images

However, according to royal expert and author Tom Quinn, William did not respond to his estranged brother’s private text message in a “warm, informal” way.

Mr Quinn told The Mirror: “Harry and Meghan have been in contact with William, but their private message was simply one of sympathy and didn’t include any suggestion the brothers should make up and let bygones be bygones or that Harry should fly back to the UK soon.”

The once close brothers have been at loggerheads since Harry’s string of explosive royal-trashing revelations — including his tell-all memoir Spare and the bombshell Netflix series Harry & Meghan — which saw him lay bare some of the royal family’s most embarrassing and personal moments.

The once close “Fab Four”, pictured in 2018, are no longer on speaking terms. Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage

Mr Quinn said there was “just too much ill feeling” for a reunion between the warring brothers.

“William, who is still hurt by everything Harry has said in the past, has responded, but the response is very much engineered by the palace and it’s hardly the kind of warm, informal response you would expect from one brother to another. It’s more like the sort of communication you would get between two slightly wary diplomats.”

Prince Harry once described Princess Catherine as the sister he never had. Picture: AFP

According to a New York Post report, the Sussexes were “not told” about Catherine’s health before her video announcement was broadcast.

“They had no idea, and only learned of the news around the same time the rest of the world found out,” an insider told the New York Post.

It comes amid claims that Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew, could play the role of the “peacemaker” between the two brothers.

The Duke of Sussex opened up about his close bond with his cousin in Spare, revealing how she was the first royal to meet Meghan.

The estranged brothers at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth in September 22. Picture: Getty Images

Princess Eugenie, with her husband Jack Brooksbank and Prince Harry at the coronation, may intervene in the row between the brothers. Picture: AFP

Prince Harry caught up with his cousin Princess Eugenie at the 2022 Super Bowl in Inglewood, California. Picture: NBC

Former royal butler Grant Harrold told The Express the princess, who has visited Harry in the US and was seen chatting to him at the coronation last May, was close to her cousins and may “intervene” to help heal their rift as she “cares about them both deeply”.

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales have allegedly rejected an offer from the Duke of Sussex to meet when he visits the UK in May because the ailing Catherine “doesn’t have the mental capacity to deal with him” as she fights cancer.

“The problem with Harry is he thinks he can inflict his damage to the royal family and all is forgotten but he’s done some serious damage and is now no longer trusted in the innermost royal circle,” said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams.

“Kate does not have the mental capacity to deal with him right now. She is focused on her health and the children.”

Harry plans to attend a service at London’s St Paul’s Cathedral in May to mark the 10th anniversary of his much championed Invictus Games.

HOW CHARLES URGED KATE TO GO PUBLIC WITH DIAGNOSIS

King Charles encouraged Princess Catherine to publicly announce her cancer diagnosis after they discussed the warm response he received from the public after doing the same six weeks earlier, it can be revealed.

The King and the Princess of Wales are understood to have become incredibly close in the 13 years since her marriage to his son Prince William and more so in the last few months when they turned to each other for comfort in their respective fights against the disease.

“The decision was hers alone to do the televised interview, and she was encouraged to make it by witnessing the public reaction to the news of the King’s cancer announced by Buckingham Palace,” said Mr Fitzwilliams.

“Charles told her he was bowled over by the outpouring of concern from people around the world after his cancer was revealed.

King Charles has spoken about his "beloved daughter-in-law" Princess Catherine. Picture: Supplied

Catherine and Charles are very close. Picture: WireImage

“Kate and the King are close, they share a similar sense of humour and he thinks she does not put a foot wrong and is a good role model for young women and the royal family,

“He calls her ‘my beloved daughter-in-law’. She saw how the public reacted to him after he revealed he had cancer and how it had affected him. He encouraged her that if he wanted to do it, she would be OK.”

Last Friday, Buckingham Palace said the King was “so proud” of the Princess of Wales for her courage in speaking publicly about her cancer diagnosis.

Charles and Queen Camilla have publicly offered their love and support to Catherine, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as the family work to come to terms with the news.

META MAKES MILLIONS OFF KATE’S CANCER STORY

Millions of fake news social media posts about the Princess of Wales’ welfare were being created by artificial intelligence “bot farms”, making platforms like Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta money in a move that will only get worse.

And according to the British government hostile states China and Russia are helping fuel the frenzied postings in a plot to destabilise the British institution and sow conspiracy and discord.

Despite Princess Catherine going public in an emotional video with her cancer diagnosis, social media continues to peddle theories challenging the veracity of the story.

Much of it has been found to be generated by artificial intelligence automating the fake reports, mimicking factual stories but disseminating misinformation.

In the past, propaganda operations required armies of co-ordinated workers but now AI can produce more at speed beyond the capacity for platforms, which earns money from them, to take them down.

From the outrageous to the ridiculous and the more sinister plot, AI bot spam is being used and the reports allowed to run largely unchecked.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, recently announced her cancer diagnosis. Picture: Handout/ BBC Studios/AFP

Australian-based social media commentator Meg Coffey said there was no doubt the royals’ PR team’s “horrific” handling of Catherine health issues fuelled the social media frenzy.

But agreed it was the world of today that some saw it as sport to push disinformation and the debate now was over whether these platforms were distributors or publishers.

She cited the Catherine video that has now ben morphed into an AI generated deep fake image of the Duchess of Sussex Meghan speaking on the park bench.

She said sites like Meta would make a lot of money from posts, fake or otherwise.

“It all comes down to views and how things get monetised,” she said.

“The more people that watch things the more people they can put ads in front of and that’s where they make their money. It’s the clicks … It’s only going to get worse. Is it four elections we’ve got this calendar year?

“We have a real media literacy problem in this country and in the world and now more than ever we need to rely on the trusted sources, to rely on the ethical journalists that have actual boards, rules and regulations behind them about what can and cannot be written or published.

“In my view newspapers and television have never been more important … in the world we live in we all need to take a minute to slow down and when you see something don’t just believe it, question everything.”

Australian-based social media commentator Meg Coffey. Picture: Supplied

In the UK, the British government has now claimed hostile states including China, Russia and Iran have been seeking to destabilise Britain by using social media to help fuel wild conspiracy theories about Catherine.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak led the condemnation of social media trolls for targeting Catherine online in the weeks leading up to her cancer diagnosis being made public on the weekend.

Even post her globally high-profile emotional video diagnosis revelation, trolls and AI spam bots continue to criticise and question the legitimacy, timing and motives of the video.

But now within government and the Whitehall bureaucracy there were growing fears it was as much about online haters as it was an orchestrated campaign by rogue nations to destabilise and undermine governance.

Princess Catherine has been targeted by social media trolls during her health battles. Picture: Getty Images

The revelation comes as the UK are about to announce sanctions against China for a wave of state-backed cyber attacks against MPs, the House of Lords and the Electoral Commission.

The orchestrated fake royal posts aimed to fuel dissension and confusion and “legitimacy” of institutions like the royal family.

The British government established a taskforce last year to look into what was now needed to protect the democratic integrity of the UK against threats of foreign interference, largely through social media and the spreading of disinformation.

The taskforce chair Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the role of rogue state actors to sow disinformation to promote conspiracy theories toward destabilising governance via social media amplification needed to be looked at.

He said the speed at which social media companies should move or be made to move on stamping out them is part of the taskforce’s review.

‘REMARKABLE’: PRINCESS ANNE’S SON PRAISES KATE

Princess Anne’s son has praised the Princess of Wales as “remarkable” saying a public outpouring of goodwill has “hugely heartened” her and King Charles as they both navigate cancer.

Peter Phillips also told how Catherine and William make a “fantastic” team and ensure a work life balance in order to prioritise their three children.

Mr Phillips, 46, hailed the Prince and Princess of Wales for their “bang on” efforts to balance public royal duties and private family life, telling Sky News Australia: “She is remarkable in herself, she and William make a fantastic team.

“For her and for the King, the outpouring of support for both of them and the well wishes for both of them to recover quickly has been hugely heartening.”

Princess Kate has received an outpouring of support and well wishes since she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer. Picture: X

Mr Phillips, the only son of the Princess Royal and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips who has been visiting Australia as a patron of the charity ISPS Handa, went on: “She’s (Kate) remarkable in herself – without a question, she and William make a fantastic team together.

“The kids are great and they have the balance of public life and trying to be parents to three young children which is always difficult – I think they’ve got it pretty right.

“As history has taught us and anyone knows, you want to be there for your children when they’re of a certain age.

“You want to be able to go and drop them off at school, pick them up from school and go and watch matches and be part of their school lives.

“I think, that balance of doing the family life and also the public life, I think they’ve pretty much got it bang on.”

Speaking of the relationships between royal family members he said, “We’re very lucky that while we probably don’t see each other as much of each other as we’d like, when we are together it’s a very important time – not just for us as cousins but for all our children to be together.”

“When my grandparents were alive, they’ve been able to spend time with their great-grandchildren – those times are important,” he said.

“When I look at it from my grandparents’ perspective, the older they got the more time you made to go and see them to allow their great-grandchildren to spend time with them.

‘It’s a pretty unique situation that any child can spend time with their great-grandparents.

‘Family time together is so important and that support that everybody needs – and certainly in tough times.”

Originally published as Kate Middleton cancer diagnosis: Prince William, Prince Harry ‘fell out years before Megxit’