Burying the hatchet? Prince William and Prince Harry likely won’t let any tension cloud King Charles III‘s coronation day.
The Prince of Wales, 40, and the Spare author, 38, “are professionals,” a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly. “Obviously, they are brothers first and emotions are always there,” the insider adds. “But they know how to act in front of the cameras. They’ve been in front of them their whole life.”
Harry has been on a roller-coaster with his older sibling and father, 74, since he and Meghan Markle announced their plans to step back as senior working royals in 2020. The Sussex couple moved to California later that year, where they raise son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 22 months. In 2021, their royal exit was made permanent.
Us confirmed in March that Harry and the Suits alum, 41, received an email invitation from Charles to the coronation, but their answer was not immediately revealed. One month later, Buckingham Palace issued a statement confirming Harry’s attendance. Meghan, meanwhile, will stay on the West Coast.
“She feels very grateful to be included in such a special occasion by the royal family and is glad that Harry can go and show support on behalf of their family,” a source exclusively told Us on April 13. “But being the same day as Archie’s birthday, unfortunately, she’s just going to have to miss out on this one.”
William, for his part, is looking forward to Charles’ “historic” day while also anticipating his own future as the direct heir to the British throne. “[It] means he’s one step closer to being King himself,” the first insider tells Us, adding that the prince has “lots of emotions” about inheriting the role.
The brothers have briefly reunited a handful of times in the wake of Harry’s exit, including for the funeral of grandpa Prince Philip in April 2021. When Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022, Harry and Meghan were already abroad and attended several events in her honor. The twosome even joined William and his wife, Princess Kate, to greet mourners at Windsor Castle.
At the time, a source exclusively told Us that the Duke of Cambridge extended the invitation to his brother and sister-in-law. However, an excerpt from royal correspondent Robert Jobson‘s book Our King hinted that Kate, 41, had mixed feelings about getting the “Fab Four” back together.
“Catherine later admitted to a senior royal that, such was the ill feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do,” Jobson wrote, claiming that the united front was an “illusion.”
Harry and William’s relationship has been on the rocks for several years, but the palace hopes any tension will be smoothed over before coronation day. “The longer the feud continues, the less likely there’ll be a reconciliation,” a source told Us earlier this year. “The palace is trying to come up with solutions to keep the peace and form some kind of reconnection and unity between William and Harry. It’s now or never.”
For more on Harry and William’s royal rift, watch the video above and pick up the latest issue of Us Weekly, on stands now.
