One tragic detail of Prince William and Prince Harry’s ongoing feud shows how far there is to go to heal the rift, according to their close pal.

Once upon a time, the two princes appeared to share a strong bond, often seen joining forces for causes close to their hearts or engaging in affectionate banter. When William married university sweetheart Kate in 2011, Harry was right by his brother’s side as his bride walked down the aisle at Westminister Abbey.

Sadly, such happy sights are now a distant memory, and it’s understood the brothers haven’t spoken since the funeral of their late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth in September 2022. During his and Meghan Markle’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry admitted he and his elder brother were ‘on different paths’, and in the years since it’s clear to see they’ve yet to find common ground.

Indeed, nearly five years on from Harry’s shock move to California, there appears to be oceans between the siblings in more ways than one.

For a piece penned in The Times, sources suggested that William is unlikely to make peace with Harry anytime soon on account of his portrayal of Kate in his 2021 bestseller, Spare. Friends have even said that Harry rarely comes up in conversation nowadays, with William’s focus directed elsewhere. A friend told the publication: “This year his focus has very much been on his wife, his children and his father. His brother isn’t really something that’s discussed.”

Following the coronation of their father King Charles last year, William, 42, reportedly made it known that he wished for his own ceremony to ‘look and feel different’ when the time comes. It’s believed one difference could be Harry being left out of the invite list. As things currently stand, William’s pals claim he wouldn’t want his younger brother at his crowning. A close friend of both siblings reportedly told the title: “They are estranged, which is dreadfully sad.”

In Harry’s bombshell memoir, which offered an insight into his royal upbringing and reasons for breaking away from palace life, the duke spoke about the first time he met his ‘carefree, sweet, kind’ sister-in-law, back when she was simply Kate Middleton, recalling how they’d enjoyed making fun of William’s cat-inspired costume ahead of a fancy dress party.

In another passage about William and Kate’s fairytale wedding, Harry again spoke with fondness about Kate, sharing: “I loved my new sister-in-law, I felt she was more sister than in-law, the sister I’d never had and always wanted, and I was pleased that she’d forever be standing by Willy’s side.”

However, things took a turn as the narrative progressed, with Harry, 39, suggesting Kate had behaved in a cold manner towards Meghan. In one recollection, Harry recalled how Kate had allegedly ‘grimaced’ after Meghan asked to borrow her lip gloss. In another, he claimed Kate had made Meghan cry shortly before her wedding, following a clash over bridesmaids’ dresses.

In one particularly memorable passage, Harry claimed that Kate had taken offence after Meghan remarked that she had ‘baby brain’ following the birth of her third child, Prince Louis, in 2018. Harry wrote: “Kate mentioned a phone call in which they’d discussed the timing of wedding rehearsals. Meg said: ‘Oh, yes! I remember: You couldn’t remember something, and I said it’s not a big deal, it’s baby brain. Because you’d just had a baby. It’s hormones.

“Kate’s eyes widened: ‘Yes. You talked about my hormones. We’re not close enough for you to talk about my hormones!’ Meg’s eyes got wide too. She looked genuinely confused. ‘I’m sorry I talked about your hormones. That’s just how I talk with my girlfriends’.” Neither Palaces have ever responded to the claims made in Spare.