‘Didn’t speak’: Harry, William’s frosty reunion

Princes William and Harry unexpectedly met last week at a memorial service but the vicar at the church has spilt the beans on the reunion.

The vicar who held a funeral reception attended by Prince William and Prince Harry last week has said he doesn’t recall the brothers talking to each other.

Reverend Dan Tansey, who is based at St Mary’s Church in Senttisham, a village near the Royal Family’s residence at Sandringham in England’s east, also revealed what they both told him at the ceremony yesterday.

The royal siblings were attending the service, on Thursday, to mark the passing of Lord Robert Fellowes, who was their mother Diana’s brother-in-law.

It was held beneath the 53 metre spire at the 650-year-old St Mary’s Church, where King Charles has previously visited while staying at Sandringham.

They vicar at the memorial servicesaid he didn't see Prince William and Prince Harry speak. (Photo by Jon Super – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Reverend Tansey told The Sun: “I had been preparing for half an hour before the service so didn’t see anyone coming through the door”.

“When I’m giving a service I wear glasses, so I can see my papers but can’t really make out faces beyond the first row.

“It was a lovely service and there were a lot of people who wanted to be there for someone who was really well-respected in the village.

“It was only as I was greeting the congregation on the way out that Prince William was shaking my hand, and then very quickly after Prince Harry did too,” he said.

Lord Robert Fellows, the brother in law of Princess Diana, died in July. (Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)

“It was a surprise but a really really pleasant surprise that they had both come.

“We’ve seen Prince William in the village before.

“If he was going to be there I didn’t expect to be told as I’d have to keep it quiet for weeks beforehand.

“It wasn’t a tremendous shock William was there, as that was always a possibility but I suppose it was more of a surprise that Harry had come.”

He went on to say: “On the way out, they both said thank you for the service and I thanked them for coming”.

“At the reception afterwards there was a very relaxed and cordial atmosphere.

“I don’t recollect them speaking to each other but there were a lot of family members and friends speaking to them.

“It would have meant a lot to Lord Robert to have them both at the service because I know both he and his aunty love them both very much.”

Another anonymous attendee told The Sun: “We never saw them speak to each other and they kept their distance”.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for a picture with Colombia's former Education Minister Aurora Vergara (L) and other participants, at the end of the "Afro women and power" forum, at the Municipal Theatre in Cali, Colombia, on August 18, 2024. (Photo by RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP)

Reverend Tansey said the gathering was not a funeral but rather a memorial service.

A small, private funeral is understood to have previously been held though it is unknown if either William or Harry were present at the earlier event.

Around 300 people from the village and beyond are thought to have attended Thursday’s service to show their support.

A groundsman at the Snettisham Cricket Club – where Lord Fellowes would watch matches each Saturday – told The Sun the service had not been heavily publicised around the village and he only found out by reading about it in the news the next day.

Mike, who declined to give a surname, added: “He’d come down here each weekend to watch, always by himself.

“I know (the memorial service) was for villagers but we didn’t even know about it.”

This story first appeared in Teh Sun and is reproduced with permission.

Originally published as ‘Didn’t speak’: Harry, William’s frosty reunion