William Refused to Talk to Harry After Philip’s Funeral—He Didn’t Want Him to ‘Spread Stories’

It turns out that Prince William and Kate Middleton refused to speak to Harry following Prince Philip’s funeral in April, according to one royal historian. This may come as a surprise to some, considering that the Cambridges were spotted walking alongside the Duke of Sussex following the ceremony. So, what really happened there?

Early reports following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death claimed that Harry, 36, and William, 39, talked at the funeral, if only briefly. Indeed, the brothers were photographed drifting off together outside of St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle as William’s wife, Duchess Kate, gave them some space to chat. The moment sparked hope of a pause between Harry and William’s feud, which seemingly reignited following the Duke of Sussex’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey and his wife, Meghan Markle, in March. But according to royal expert and biographer Robert Lacey, no such truce was met during the brothers’ reunion.

In the updated version of his book, Battle of Brothers: William, Harry and the Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, Lacey claims that William and Kate actually avoided speaking with Harry altogether, for fear that their private conversation might be “leaked” to the public such as with the contents of his tell-all. Instead of catching up with Harry, who had not been in the U.K. for over a year since his royal exit, the Cambridges hurried back home to Kensington Palace to avoid any real discussions.

“William and Kate, after saying goodbye to Charles, who headed to Wales where he had been mourning at his Llandovery estate, went back to Kensington Palace together to put the children to bed,” Lacey writes. “They told friends that they could see no point in talking to Harry, since any discussion of substance would go straight back to Meghan to be leaked out via Oprah or some other tentacle of the Sussex network that had not stopped spreading stories in the weeks since the interview.”

Harry, meanwhile, is set to return once again to the U.K. and reunite with his brother for the unveiling of a statue in honor of their late mother, Princess Diana. The tribute ceremony is scheduled to take place on what would have been the Princess of Wales’ 60th birthday on July 1. Whether or not William’s silent treatment continues during his brother’s latest visit, of course, remains to be seen.

Battle of Brothers by Robert Lacey

Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers.

For more about Prince Harry and Prince William’s feud, check out historian Robert Lacey’s 2020 book, Battle of Brothers. In this New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller, Lacey takes a close look at Harry and William’s relationship throughout the years and considers each moment that led to their eventual estrangement. From the impact of their mother Princess Diana’s tragic death and the pressures of their roles in the royal family (William, the future king vs. Harry, the spare), to the influence their wives Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have had on their differing paths, Battle of Brothers reveals all the “highs, lows, and discretions” of these brothers’ lives in a way “never offered before.”

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