Prince William & Kate Middleton Didn't Hang Out with Prince Harry After Prince Philip's Funeral Fearing Leaks

• Royal experts seem to agree that members of the royal family are worried about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaking details from private conversations they have.
• B (opens in new tab)attle of Brothers (opens in new tab) author Robert Lacey said Prince William and Kate Middleton avoided talking to Harry after Prince Philip's funeral this spring for that reason, according to The Sun.
• Royal author Phil Dampier previously said, "One of [Prince] Charles and Williams’ big fears is that whatever discussions they have with Harry are immediately leaked."

Prince William and Prince Harry's relationship (opens in new tab) is still strained, by all accounts.

According to royal historian Robert Lacey (opens in new tab) in a new update for his royal biography Battle of Brothers (opens in new tab), the tension between the brothers is having very real-world implications. Lacey says that fear of "leaks" to media actually stopped William and his wife, Kate Middleton (opens in new tab), form hanging out with Harry when he was in the United Kingdom this spring for Prince Philip's funeral.

"They told friends that they could see no point in talking to Harry, since any discussion of substance would go straight back to Meghan to be leaked out via Oprah [Winfrey] or some other tentacle of the Sussex network," Lacey explained, according to The Sun (opens in new tab).

This isn't the first time that reports have surfaced that the royal family is worried that the Sussexes (opens in new tab) will leak details from private conversations to the media. The Sun report also includes a statement from another royal author, Phil Dampier, on the topic.

"One of Charles and Williams’ big fears is that whatever discussions they have with Harry are immediately leaked," he explained. "They will be worried that if they get into any great detail, the next thing they know it will be out in the public domain, which makes it extremely difficult to heal the wounds long-term."

Here's hoping the lines of communication open up next time Harry visits the royal family—which is expected to be soon, for the unveiling of a new Princess Diana statue (opens in new tab) at Kensington Palace.