Princes William and Harry reportedly engaged in a tense exchange before their “awkward” public appearance with Kate and Meghan at Windsor in 2022, just a day following Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, according to a lip reading expert.

This marked the first public appearance of the so-called ‘Fab Four’ since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles in 2020, as they came together to mourn the late monarch.

A Channel 5 documentary has recently brought to light that the royal brothers may have had a heated conversation before facing the public eye.

In the program titled “Lip-Reading The Royals: What Are They Really Saying?”, set to air on Saturday at 8:15 p.m., expert Nicola Hickling analyzes the moments leading up to the brothers and their wives walking side by side to view the extensive floral tributes at the Windsor estate.

As they approached the gates, Hickling suggests William might have turned to Kate, saying, “let’s move.”

Soon after, Harry reportedly tapped William on the shoulder, prompting the Prince of Wales to respond, “Why are we together? This is not the end.”

‘And at that moment, Meghan chimes in “not today”,’ Nicola continued. ‘She can obviously feel a tension here between William and Harry.’

The lip-reader then shared that she believed Harry then said ‘Not now please, I didn’t foresee this’ – a possible reference to the fact that the Duke may not have been aware of the joint engagement beforehand.

Kate then reportedly said: ‘Stop arguing.’ 

Princes William and Harry had an ‘argument’ before their ‘awkward’ Windsor walkabout with Kate and Meghan in 2022 – just one day after the Queen’s death, a lip reader has claimed

‘That would have been a Palace decision, I think, for them to be seen together and obviously the brothers had to agree to this,’ Grant Howard, a former royal butler, told the programme.

‘It would have been a very difficult decision for them because suddenly they’re having to act and to put the best foot forward, and pretend everything’s great again.’

‘When they get to the gate and they can see all the flowers, I can sense a change in William,’ Nicola continued. ‘Like he’s put on a front at this point, and he says to Catherine, “look at all the flowers”.’

Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry were close together – and the Duchess reportedly told her husband: ‘Don’t let go.’

To this, the Duke allegedly replied: ‘I got you.’ 

It was the first time the ‘Fab Four’ had been publicly seen together since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped away from royal duties in 2020, all in mourning for the late Elizabeth II

‘Up until the Queen’s death, with Harry and Meghan, they’d very much become outcasts if you like,’ Grant added.

‘Their relations with the Royal Family were at an all time low. When I watched the clip originally, I thought “oh that’s quite nice, they’re all together…”

‘So now hearing the lip readers view on it… it obviously changes the dynamic of the situation because the reality is they were having an argument.’

‘We were all very surprised to see them together,’ royal commentator Ingrid Seward also shared. ‘William must have meant, this is not the end of our argument, this is not the end of our differences – and I think they were probably on very awkward terms.’

Elsewhere, former royal press secretary Dicky Arbiter said it was clear there was ‘anger and frustration’ from William’s side, as the Prince likely felt ‘it wasn’t the right moment and it wasn’t the right time’.

‘It’s very hard for brothers in very different places,’ actress Nina Wadia remarked.

‘And then publicly the only opportunity to talk… because they’re probably not talking behind the scenes… who knows. It is such a sad situation.’

Lip-Reading The Royals: What Are They Really Saying? 8.15pm, Saturday, Channel 5