Prince Harry and Prince William may be separated by a deep and public rift, but they were once said to have made one promise that would rise above any personal pain: to protect and celebrate the legacy of their mother, Princess Diana, side by side.
That commitment was detailed in Finding Freedom, the biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, who cited a conversation with someone close to Harry.
According to the unnamed friend, quoted via the Independent, both brothers have always felt a profound responsibility to keep Diana’s memory alive, and “hurt feelings” were never supposed to stand in the way of that shared mission.
The source also suggested that honouring Princess Diana remained such a central priority for Harry and William that, whatever else was happening behind palace doors, neither brother would want to move forward on major tributes without the other.
However, royal author Phil Dampier, who wrote Royally Suited: Harry And Meghan in their own words, believes that once-powerful vow has effectively fractured under the weight of the brothers’ ongoing estrangement.
Diana anniversary unlikely to reconcile
Speaking to Our News Outlet, Dampier said: “William and Harry put aside their differences for the unveiling of the statue of their mother Princess Diana [five years ago], but things are much worse now.”
He added: “I think William would find it very hard to meet Harry, even to honour Diana’s memory. Next year marks the 30th anniversary of her death, so that would be an obvious time for them to try and heal their rift and at least be seen together, but I don’t think William’s heart is in it.”
Dampier claimed that people close to the Prince of Wales say William is focused firmly on what lies ahead with Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — while, in his view, Harry now belongs to a chapter William is trying to leave behind.
‘He will never forgive Harry, in my opinion, not just for leaving the Royal Family, but for the dirt he dished out in his book Spare, the Netflix show, and the Oprah Winfrey interview.’
‘It led to Catherine being smeared as a racist, and he will never forget that.’
Invictus Games highlights royal rift
Harry wants his father, the King, to be at the Invictus Games next Summer in Birmingham, but no one knows if it will happen.
‘Charles may use Queen Camilla’s 80th birthday as an excuse not to be present. But one thing is certain – William won’t be there. He will make sure he is far away so there is no doubt he could make it.’
‘Obviously the dates are known, but William won’t want to be anywhere near his brother. He will feel he is being used by Harry, just to benefit himself and his image.’
‘Of course, William wants to support veterans and the military – after all, he will one day be King and head of the armed forces – but I just can’t see him dancing to Harry’s tune.’
‘Too much has been said, it’s gone on so long, and the feelings of hurt and betrayal are too deep.’
One of William and Harry’s final events together was the unveiling of a statue of Diana in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace on July 1, 2021, what would have been her 60th birthday.
But by 2026, the brothers have decidedly started to honour their mother separately.
Harry maintains a longstanding patronage with WellChild, a national charity for seriously ill children, with funds dedicated to Princess Diana.
Tensions marked past joint appearances
And when William presented the Diana Legacy Awards in 2024, Harry’s participation was limited to a virtual appearance.
Prince William paid a moving tribute to his late mother as he handed out awards in her memory, before his estranged brother Prince Harry was due to speak via video link.
But their different approaches to remembering their mother became apparent at the 2021 unveiling of Diana’s statue, when Harry’s relaxed approach contrasted with that of a cautious Prince William, who said ‘it’s important to unveil it right,’ a lip reader claimed.
The siblings marked what would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday by unveiling a sculpture created in her honour by Ian Rank-Broadley and placed in the remodelled gardens their mother loved, all packed with 4,000 of her favourite plants and flowers.
According to lip-reading expert Jeremy Freeman, the pair took a very different stance on the unveiling after being offered advice on how to remove the cover, with one man advising the royal brothers: ‘As you pull it, it’ll slide over and drop, ok?’
While Harry reassured his older brother, ‘We will be ok,’ William responded: ‘I didn’t want anything to go wrong; it’s important we unveil it right.’
Brief reunion hides deep rift
After being guided to the correct step, William demonstrated how he believed it should be pulled, to which Harry told his brother, ‘Let’s just yank it!’
Following the reveal, Jeremy observed that the jovial Duke of Sussex said, ‘We did it!’ Delighted, he gushed: ‘Wow! Isn’t that amazing?’ to which Prince William added: ‘What a reveal.’
The brothers, who have been split by Harry’s decision to leave the UK, were seen chatting in the grounds of Kensington Palace moments before the grand unveiling.
When walking down the steps before the grand unveiling, Prince William said: ‘Oh my, this is amazing.’ Prince Harry agreed: ‘This is spectacular.’
But what had originally been planned as a large celebration to mark her life was later classed as a ‘private event’ – largely due to bad blood between the brothers and Harry’s determination to control media coverage.
Harry’s wife Meghan Markle remained at their £11million mansion in Montecito with their then-two-year-old son Archie and Lilibet Diana, who was born 21 days prior to the statue unveiling at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.
The brothers are said to have barely spoken and have an ‘incredibly strained’ relationship after two years of rows, including the ‘truth bombs’ the Sussexes have dropped in TV interviews watched by tens of millions of people around the world.
It comes amid reports that Harry longs to spend time with another family member – his father, King Charles – and has asked the monarch to stand alongside him at next summer’s Invictus Games.
Father and son seek reconciliation
Charles has reportedly received an olive branch from his son in the form of an invitation to the multi-sport event, held in Birmingham.
The games’ organisers are likely to either invite the King to the opening or closing ceremony, as well as some of the sporting spectacles where he will get the chance to meet competitors.
Harry met the King alongside his wife Meghan and the couple’s two children, Archie and Lilibet, earlier this summer, and the Duke is thought to be buoyed by the reunion.
Queen Camilla was also present at the Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire when father and son exchanged words in what was the first public in-person meeting in four years.
Charles has scarcely seen his grandchildren since Harry and Meghan withdrew from their royal roles in 2020 and headed to the US permanently.
And the Duke is keen to broker further meetings with his father in a bid to get him to spend more time with Archie and Lilibet, the Mirror reports.
One source said: ‘Next year is a big deal for Harry. He is determined the Birmingham Games will be the best ever. It would mean the world to him to have his father there.’
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