LONDON (AP) – A year after they last saw each other, Prince William and his brother Prince Harry put their fraught relationship aside when they said goodbye to their grandfather at his funeral on Saturday.
The brothers were gloomy and silent as they, along with their father, Prince Charles, and other close relatives, walked in a procession behind Prince Philip’s coffin for his funeral at Windsor Castle. They were seen talking and walking after the service ended.
It was the first time the brothers had been together in public since Harry retired from royal duties and moved to the US with his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their son Archie in early 2020.
Tensions between Harry, 36, and William, 38, came to the fore after Harry and Meghan gave a revealing interview to US talk show host Oprah Winfrey last month. The couple portrayed the royal family as indifferent to Meghan’s mental health issues, and Harry described his relationship with William as ‘space right now’.
On Saturday, William and Harry walked in silence on either side of their cousin, Peter Phillips, as they joined other senior royals in Philip’s funeral procession. At one point, Phillips fell a bit behind in having the brothers walk side by side – a visual echo of the moment when, as boys in 1997, the couple walked behind the coffin of their mother Princess Diana during another royal funeral that spanned the was broadcast all over the world.
The brothers sat opposite each other in St. George’s Chapel for the funeral, which was attended by only 30 people due to coronavirus restrictions. While William was sitting next to his wife Kate, Harry was alone because Meghan is pregnant with their second child and was advised by her doctor not to take the long journey.
Then Harry, William and Kate walked together outside the chapel. Moments later, the brothers walked alone while Kate spoke to Zara Tindall, another of Queen Elizabeth II’s eight grandchildren, William and Harry’s cousin.
Rumors of a rift between the brothers – William, the heir, and Harry, the ‘reserve’ – have been ringing at least since 2019, when Harry and Meghan separated from the Royal Foundation, which was originally set up as the joint charity. brothers. to set up their own platform. That year, Harry said he loved his brother dearly, but that they were “on different paths” and had “good days” and “bad days.”
Many believe William was upset and hurt by Harry’s decision to speak so publicly about royal family issues during the Winfrey interview. In an explosive allegation, they said a family member – not the Queen or Philip – had expressed “ concern ” about Archie’s possible skin color before he was born. Meghan has a black mother and a white father.
Days after the interview aired, William insisted “we are not a racist family,” and said he had not spoken to Harry since the airing.
It’s unclear whether their grandfather’s death will help the brothers heal their breakup. It was not immediately clear how long Harry, who has been isolating himself in accordance with UK coronavirus restrictions since arriving from California early this week, will remain in his home country.
Saturday’s funeral was limited to just 30 people, all of whom had to wear masks, sit in family bells and remain socially aloof in the same church that hosted hundreds of people in 2018 for Harry and Meghan’s royal wedding. And the ongoing limitations of the coronavirus in Britain could be a limitation. how much chance the brothers will have to iron out their differences.
“Due to the limitations of COVID, it is difficult to achieve decent preservations,” said royal biographer Penny Junor. “It’s probably quite difficult to sit down over a beer and discuss things.”
Follow AP’s full coverage of Prince Philip’s death at https://apnews.com/hub/prince-philip