PRINCE William and Prince Harry’s feud will never completely heal, the Battle of Brothers author claimed today.
The brothers cut contact completely for two months amid the fallout of Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision to quit the Royal Family.
And royal author Robert Lacey – who is an advisor on Netflix’s The Crown – today said it was unlikely the brothers’ rift would heal easily.
Sun journalist Dan Wootton quizzed the author over the feud on talkRadio, suggesting that the tensions between the brothers “runs deep”.
Mr Lacey replied: “What many people would like to see is those two brothers to come back together.
“But I think your instincts are right – they are not going to.”
The royal expert, who will release his new book Battle of the Brothers at the end of the month, said the competition between the brothers had existed since their childhood.
But he said the resentment finally emerged in recent years, “crystallised by Meghan”.
Speaking today, he said: “Harry of course is on the record several times saying he does not like the term Megxit.
“He insists it was his decision – but it’s the advent of this dynamic, controversial woman who brings fresh dimensions to his life and a fresh look.
“Why should he play the second role to William all the time? That’s close to the roots of what went wrong in the split.”
Meghan and Harry announced at the start of this year that they were quitting the Royal Family – now living in the US with their son Archie.
And Mr Lacey said the couple had started to outshine the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after their wedding and the birth of their son.
He said: “When they got married, they became the royal rock stars for about a year and a half including the birth of Archie. They really overshadowed William.
“I’m not in a position to speculate what William personally felt about that but I know that the people around William didn’t like it.
“I know that people in Buckingham Palace in particular didn’t like Meghan. They didn’t like her American style, didn’t like the way she brought in American advisers.
“I’m afraid that partisanship remains. They are anti-Meghan and that means anti-Harry as well.”
Mr Lacey also said the lockdown on travel due to coronavirus had meant the feeling had been made worse – with Meghan and Harry likely to have already returned to the UK for a visit if they had been able to.
Prince William yesterday stepped up to the plate to support the Queen, heading to Wiltshire with the 94-year-old monarch.
Former Buckingham Palace spokesman and royal commentator Dickie Arbiter said: “It is great to see the Queen again and it was nice that she was accompanied by Prince William.
“In the past she had the Duke of Edinburgh and it is right Prince William went with her in her first day out of the royal bubble in seven months.”
