Prince William & Prince Harry's Relationship to Be Tested in 2021

last updated 9 October 2021

Although their relationship has reportedly been strained for a while, Prince Harry and Prince William (opens in new tab) haven't seen each other face-to-face in almost a year and are expected to reunite again later this year.
According to royal correspondent Rebecca English (opens in new tab), Harry is expected to return to the UK this summer for Prince Philip's 100th birthday and the unveiling of a statue in honor of his and William's late mother, Princess Diana.
Royal insiders say how the brothers interact at these events will be very telling of the future of their relationship.

Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship (opens in new tab) has been strained for a while now. Usually, this kind of royal tea is totally unconfirmed and comes via anonymous reports, but Harry and William (opens in new tab) have addressed their issues as head-on as royals ever address these kinds of things.

In October 2019, in an interview for the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey (opens in new tab), Harry confirmed that he and Will were "on different paths." (opens in new tab)

"Part of this role and part of this job and this family being under the pressure that it’s under … stuff happens," he told ITV News at Ten anchor Tom Bradby (opens in new tab) at the time. "But look we’re brothers. We’ll always be brothers."

Still, Harry was hopeful about the future of his and Will's relationship, elaborating:

"We’re certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him and as I know he’ll always be there for me. We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy but I love him dearly. The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing but as brothers it’s just as I said, you have good days, you have bad days."

After spending most of 2020 on different continents thanks to travel restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic shortly after Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, relocated to California (opens in new tab), Harry and Will (opens in new tab) are expected to reunite face-to-face later this year. Royal sources say the brothers will almost certainly reunite in person (opens in new tab) this summer and that how they interact then will be very telling of the future of their relationship.

"Will the family be reconciled?" royal correspondent Rebecca English wrote in a recent column for the Daily Mail (opens in new tab). "The litmus test will be the Duke of Edinburgh's 100th birthday in June, which is followed by the planned unveiling at Kensington Palace of the long-awaited memorial statue to William and Harry's late mother, Princess Diana (opens in new tab), Covid permitting."

Harry is expected to attend both events, if at all possible, and royal insiders will be paying close attention to how he and William are together.

"If the two brothers can make that work, then we have hope," a royal source explained.

Fingers crossed that Will and Harry (opens in new tab) do more than just "make that work." We're firmly on Team All Royal Feuds Are Over for 2021 (and beyond).