Prince William Asked His Uncle to Talk to Harry About Meghan

published 25 October 2020

When things got serious quickly between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince William wasn't shy about telling his younger brother that he thought the relationship was moving too fast—a decision that fueled the royals' now-infamous feud.
According to royal historian Robert Lacey, when Will wasn't able to talk Harry into slowing things down with Meghan himself, he asked their uncle Charles Spencer to talk to him.
The move backfired, with Harry not only continuing to refuse to slow things down, but also feeling "furious with his elder brother for dragging other family members into the row."

Prince William and Prince Harry's feud is already the stuff of royal scandal legend, but we've been learning lots of new details about their ~drama~ thanks to the new biography Battle of Brothers: William and Harry — The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult by royal historian Robert Lacey.

One of those new details? Will apparently enlisted other family members to help him try to talk Harry into moving slower in his relationship with Meghan Markle.

According to an excerpt from the book shared by Us Weekly, the Queen was "delighted to see Harry in a loving relationship," but William thought things were moving way too fast "and he did not shrink from saying as much when Harry started talking about getting hitched to Meghan quite soon."

When Will's own warnings didn't work, he apparently asked his late mother's brother, Charles Spencer, to step in and help him talk to Harry.

"The result of the Spencer intervention was an even more bitter explosion. Once again Harry refused to slow down. He didn’t blame his uncle. He understood why Diana’s brother should want to help. Yet he was furious with his elder brother for dragging other family members into the row," Lacey writes. "The fraternal fissure became established. There would be patch-ups and reconciliations, especially when a public show of unity was required. But that anger and mistrust–that distance–has lasted to the present day."

Oof.

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. 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.