Talking to me as I wrote his biography, Harry said that his relationship with William was the most important in his life. They disagreed on many things, he told me, but if they quarreled they would never find a way to make amends and move on. It was a team. It’s very sad to think that it was only three years ago when we had this debate. Since then, so much has changed, especially the closeness that the two brothers once shared, which seems to have collapsed. They now live completely separate lives and not just because there is an ocean between them. I’m afraid the news that Sussex and Cambridge did not see each other on Harry and Megan’s surprise trip to the UK – their arrival is coming while William and Kate are said to be out of the countryside for skiing – is a sign of how the earth is. Their unique closeness was born after they went through so much at such a young age. Much has been written about how traumatic it must have been for the couple to walk behind their mother’s coffin in 1997. For William and Harry, it was the hardest thing they ever had to do. Nothing about their mother’s death was private. Everyone was watching them and the horror of all of them drew them closer.
Strange childhood
Even with the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, however, theirs was a strange childhood – one that no one else could comprehend. Harry told me how difficult it was for both of them when they grew up to trust people and really relax. They never knew, he said, if people who shouted they were friends liked them just because of who they were. Growing up, they took different paths but stayed as close as ever. When Kathryn came on stage, Harry said she was like the sister he always wanted. The three of them were as thick as thieves. William was always watching Harry, he was always there for him and he wanted the best for him, which is why he was so hurt when Harry and Megan chased Kathryn in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. Faith is important to William – and the monarchy. He does not believe in betraying the family like that. He was also angry about how rude Harry was to their father. When Harry said that he had tried to help his “trapped” brother, I imagine that this must have been cut very deep. And the wounds of the last two years do not seem to heal very quickly. They are the children I feel most sad about – they are great for repairing cracks and imposing a sunnier atmosphere when things have become cold among adults. But Lilibet has never met her cousins. It seems a great pity that not everyone gathered as two young families, apologized for everything that happened to each other and moved on. I just hope they find a way to meet in the middle. Angela Levin is a journalist and royal biographer
