Prince William publicly acknowledged his brother, Prince Harry, in a recent documentary. This was the first time he mentioned him amid the ongoing familial rift. In his new ITV documentary titled ‘Prince William: We Can End Homelessness,’ the Prince of Wales reflected on a significant childhood memory he shared with Harry during a visit to a homelessness charity.
According to a report in the New York Post, William recalled, “My mother took me to The Passage; she took Harry and I both there. I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10. I had never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious about what to expect.”
A photograph from the visit shows the young princes at the charity, with Harry sitting on their mother, Princess Diana’s lap, both smiling for the camera.
The Prince remembered how Princess Diana’s presence created a cheerful atmosphere at the centre; she made the people “feel relaxed,” laughing and joking with them. He said, “I remember at the time kind of thinking, ‘Well, whoever’s not got a home, they’re all going to be really sad,’ but it was incredible how happy an environment it was.”
The relations between the two brothers strained after Harry’s marriage to Meghan Markle. While Kensington Palace’s official account posted a 40th birthday wish for Harry, William’s comments in the documentary represent a rare public reference to his brother in recent years.
Tensions increased when Harry and Meghan relocated to California in 2020, followed by their high-profile interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, where they made allegations of racism against an unnamed royal family member. The release of their Netflix docuseries, ‘Harry & Meghan,’ in 2022 and Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare,’ have further complicated family dynamics, particularly after Harry accused William of physically attacking him during an argument over Meghan.
In June, Harry declined an invitation to the wedding of Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, due to William’s expected attendance. Although Harry was invited, he declined to attend out of concern for an “awkward” confrontation with William, a royal expert told Fox News Digital.
Although Harry made a brief visit to London in February 2024 for a meeting with King Charles following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis, he did not meet with William at that time. It is believed that their last conversation took place in 2022, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.