The relationship between Prince William and his younger brother Prince Harry has always been complicated.
Much has been written about their fractious relationship — including in Harry’s own controversial memoir, Spare, where he described William as his “archnemesis”.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: The royal rift lives on.
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Despite their current estrangement, one source has told Us Weekly that Prince William is actually “a bit envious” of his younger brother’s lifestyle since he and wife Meghan moved overseas.
“William is a bit envious of his freedoms,” the source said.
Royal historian Ed Owens agreed with the assessment, telling OK! magazine Harry was doing things that set him apart from the rest of the royal family — and it wasn’t going unnoticed by William.
“Harry has done remarkable things,” Owen said, citing the success of Harry’s Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick military personnel.
“(The Invictus Games) now has international presence and I think that international stage is something both brothers are clearly vying for.
“That international limelight really sets Harry’s work apart from other members of the royal family.”
Sunrise royal correspondent Rob Jobson previously claimed William was caught off guard by the success of the Invictus Games.
“I think there was a degree of jealousy about how well it had gone,” Robson said in a US TV special called Prince Harry’s Mission: Life, Family and Invictus Games, which aired in February.
“I do think that William was surprised how much this had been such a success and how much money was being thrown into it and how many governments were getting involved.”
Promoting his memoir Spare last year, Harry admitted there had always been sibling rivalry between him and his older brother.
“There has always been this competition between us, weirdly,” he told Good Morning America in January 2023.
Harry even went as far as calling William his “archnemesis” in Spare, claiming William once got into a physical altercation with him during an argument about Meghan.
But it seems that since Catherine, the Princess of Wales’ cancer revelation, Harry might be keen to mend the rift with William.
“Harry is very content and doesn’t have any of those old feelings now,” one source told Us Weekly.
“He feels that his life has purpose and meaning and that he can bring a lot of good to the world.”
It’s understood Harry has invited William to attend the Invictus Games anniversary event in London on May 8, but it’s not known if the heir to the throne plans to attend.
And while Harry might want to extend the olive branch to the Wales family, the feeling is reportedly not mutual.
A friend of the Prince and Princess of Wales told OK! that the pair still feel “betrayed” by the publication of Spare and the release of the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan in late 2022.
“(William and Catherine) don’t speak to Harry and Meghan, and they are certainly not about to start when Catherine is at her most vulnerable,” the source said.
“William and Catherine felt completely betrayed by Harry’s memoir.”
Royal author Tom Quinn said Harry’s upcoming visit to London could be “awkward”.
“Given Kate’s cancer diagnosis, Harry will certainly make efforts to see his brother and Kate when he returns to the UK in May — if it happens at all, it’s to be a very brief, carefully choreographed meeting and organised to last a short time so that the brothers can avoid any difficult conversations,” Quinn said.
“At the same time, Harry knows how it will look if he comes back to the UK and doesn’t see his brother and Kate.
“It’s going to be a very awkward time.”