Prince William and Prince Harry's Rift Is "as Damaging as Diana's Death" to the Royal Family, Expert Says

A royal biographer says the brothers' feud will go down as "one of the traumas that changed the monarchy."


Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship (opens in new tab) has been strained for a while now and, according to a royal expert, the brothers' ongoing rift could have a devastating impact on the royal family (opens in new tab) long-term.

According to Robert Lacey (opens in new tab), a royal historian and biographer whose upcoming book  (opens in new tab)Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult (opens in new tab) will dive deep into the royal brothers' long-rumored feud, says their drama will go down as one of the royal family's biggest scandals ever. For the book, Lacey spoke to "countless" royal insiders to get the real story behind the breakdown of Will and Harry's relationship (opens in new tab).

In a recent interview with the Daily Mail (opens in new tab), Lacey explained that William and Harry's feud (opens in new tab) will have a huge effect on the future of the royal family and even went so far as to compare its impact to the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana (opens in new tab).

"If this breach between the brothers is not healed in some way it will come to stand with the abdication crisis and the death of Diana as one of the traumas that changed the monarchy," Lacey said.

Lacey was also incredibly candid in his assessment of the royal family's treatment of Harry's wife, Meghan Markle (opens in new tab).

"There is only one self-made millionaire in the Royal Family and that is Meghan Markle," Lacey said. "If they had sat down with her at the start and said, 'Let’s talk about the things you are interested in', things might have been different....She was never going to be a routine royal."

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.