The future king isn’t in a forgiving mood.
Prince William is said to be no closer to having peace talks with his brother, Prince Harry, who continues to have a strained relationship with his family even as they battle an ongoing health crisis.
“I have been saying this for months now – William pulled up the drawbridge and is not about to let it down for Harry anytime soon,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” claimed to Fox News Digital.
“William not only expects loyalty from his brother on a very personal level, but he commands respect as the heir to the throne,” Andersen claimed. “That’s just the kind of person the Prince of Wales is. He has always been brought up to believe, as his father did before him, that if the system is to work at all, he comes first after the king – simple as that.”
Prince Harry (left) and Prince William (right) are no closer to having peace talks, several royal experts claimed to Fox News Digital. (DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
“William not only expects loyalty from his brother on a very personal level, but he commands respect as the heir to the throne.”
Andersen’s claims came shortly after Majesty magazine’s editor-in-chief Ingrid Seward said that the father of three had cut ties with his younger brother.
“William is sensitive, he likes structure and has perseverance,” the royal author told U.K.’s Mirror. “He does not give up easily.”
“His relationship with his brother Harry upsets him more than he would care to admit,” Seward claimed. “But he found it easier to cut ties rather than allow himself to be continually annoyed.”
Prince Harry’s memoir “Spare” was published in 2023. The Duke of Sussex is said to still be experiencing the effects of the book’s publication. (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Andersen agreed.
“It’s just been so much easier for William, facing the pressure of having to cope with his wife’s, as well as his father’s cancer diagnoses, to slam the door on Harry,” Andersen claimed. “Queen Elizabeth was able to do it, and the king has shown no interest in making amends with Harry either. If anything, it looks as if the cancer diagnoses have made it easier for William to shut his brother out.
“It’s an awful lot to handle. You really can’t blame him… But the truth is that illness has not brought the brothers together. Oddly, it has driven them further apart.”
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Prince William (left) is heir to the British throne. His father, King Charles III, was crowned on May 6, 2023, in London, England. (Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“From William’s perspective, at this moment, where’s the upside to trying to make peace with Harry?” Andersen continued. “It would take a lot of negotiating and compromise to even lay down the hatchet, much less bury it. Both sides would have to find a way to take responsibility and apologize. Ain’t happening anytime soon.”
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, which handles the Prince of Wales’s office, didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s initial request for comment. At the time, a royal expert claimed that William was banning Harry from the royal fold.
Harry rushed to London in February for a very brief visit after King Charles was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer. It is understood that William had no plans to meet with Harry at the time.
King Charles III has resumed public duties while seeking treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Harry, 39, has seen his father infrequently since the prince quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to California with his wife, Meghan Markle, citing what they said were unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. He has since detailed his rocky relationship with his family in TV interviews, a documentary and his memoir, “Spare.”
Shortly after his last quick trip to London, Harry told “Good Morning America” that he thought his father’s illness could help bring his family closer.
In “Spare,” Harry details his rivalry with William, 42.
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Meghan Markle has not visited the U.K. since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022. (Kirsty OConnor – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
In the book, Harry alleged that during an argument in 2019, William called Meghan “difficult” and “rude” and then grabbed him by the collar and knocked him down. Harry suffered cuts and bruises from landing on a dog bowl. Harry claimed Charles implored the brothers to make up. Following the funeral of Charles’ father, Prince Philip, in 2021, the king pleaded, “Please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”
Andersen said the sibling rivalry has been decades in the making.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the 2024 ESPY Awards at Dolby Theatre on July 11, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for W+P)
“It all dates back to when they were children and their great-grandmother, the Queen Mother, had tea with William while Harry sat alone in the corner,” Andersen claimed. “By the same token, the boys’ granny, Queen Elizabeth II, paid a hell of a lot more attention to William than she did to Harry. So understandably, Harry has always felt dissed, and because he and his brother were in a unique position as Diana’s sons – they were treated by their mother as equals – the ‘spare’ has never bowed down to William’s authority, at least not to the extent that the Prince of Wales wants him to.”
Princess Diana treated her “boys” as equals. (Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)
British photographer and broadcaster Helena Chard told Fox News Digital it’s not too late for the brothers to make amends. But the road to peace, she claimed, wouldn’t be an easy one for Harry.
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“The Sussexes still have their titles,” Chard explained. “Prince Harry, as well as his children are still in the line of succession. Prince Harry is listed as Counsellor of State. As long as Parliament doesn’t change this, the door is always open for reconciliation between the battling brothers. However, this will not be anytime soon.”
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Prince William looks on during the UEFA EURO 2024 final match between Spain and England at Olympiastadion on July 14, 2024, in Berlin, Germany. (Inaki Esnaola/Getty Images)
“Prince Harry, along with Meghan, denigrated their family,” Chard claimed. “… Uncomfortable conversations are OK but Harry and Meghan attacking their family with a string of explosive public claims… is not OK. Prince Harry has lost a lot of fans and created a lot of enemies because of the amount of damage and hurt he and Meghan have caused… The negativity surrounding Prince Harry seems to be lasting and still, he seems remorseless. There is little chance of reconciliation without a heartfelt apology.”
Royal experts claimed to Fox News Digital that Prince Harry is more willing to have peace talks than his older brother Prince William. (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
“Prince Harry has betrayed Prince William’s trust and violated family etiquette and protocol,” Chard claimed. “There is no trust between the brothers. Prince William is a tough character… He doesn’t give up on things easily. He has made a strong resolute decision to detach himself from Prince Harry for the sake of his family and to protect the monarchy.”
“Prince Harry and Prince William are living in different worlds… and are on different paths – things will not change unless a bigger force requires change,” Chard added.
William has been protecting his family as they combat health woes.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, during the trophy ceremony for the Mens Singles Final at The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club at Wimbledon on July 14th, 2024, in London, England. (Simon Bruty/Anychance/Getty Images)
In March, his wife Kate Middleton revealed in a video message that she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy. The announcement came after relentless speculation on social media ever since January when she was hospitalized for unspecified abdominal surgery.
Kate asked for “time, space and privacy” while she is treated for an unspecified type of cancer that was discovered after what she described as “major” surgery.
The king, 75, has been keeping busy with public duties after taking a break following his own cancer diagnosis in early February.
Prince William and Prince Harry were once close, having a bond that seemed unshakable. (Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Andersen claimed that while Harry may be eager to have peace talks with his family, the royals are more focused on shielding the king and Princess of Wales from drama.
“It’s certain that [the royals] want to keep Kate and the king away from any added stress,” said Andersen. “That means keeping them at arm’s length from the sideshow that goes with Harry and Meghan.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
