Though many royal fans have lamented the growing rift between Prince William and Prince Harry, reporter Robert Lacey has claimed that the Duke of Cambridge actually prefers to have his younger brother across the pond.
In an interview with The Daily Beast , Lacey said that he believes a mixture of frustration with Prince Harry’s decision to leave the monarchy combined with Prince William’s jealousy of his sibling’s fun reputation was largely behind the conflict. He added that this makes it unlikely the pair will mend fences anytime soon.
“I used to be optimistic of some sort of reconciliation. I am less so now,” he explained, in comments that were reprinted in celebrity gossip website Celebitchy .
The royal author, who has worked as a consultant on the Netflix series The Crown , noted that he believes the Cambridges like the fact that they don’t have to deal with feuds or competition, now that the Sussexes have relocated to Santa Barbara, California.
“I am actually coming to feel that it actually suits William and Kate quite well to have Harry and Meghan off the territory,” he added.
Lacey said that he thought that the Cambridges preferred it when Prince Harry was the third wheel to their trio and disliked how Meghan Markle “made Harry realize the reality of this subordinate role.”
“The Fab Four rapidly [disintegrated] under the pressure of the competition for celebrity and attention and affection that Harry and Meghan create,” he continued.
“You know it’s the old, ‘This town is too small for both of us’ syndrome. William and Kate are determinedly stepping into the void that Harry has left.”
The Cambridges have indeed taken on a number of more high-profile events since the Sussexes’ departure from the U.K. For example, Prince William recently announced the Earthshot Prize, which has been heralded as the most prestigious environmental initiative in the world.
Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridge just finalized her Hold Still campaign. Hold Still is a compilation of photos collected from across the country that captured the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Both projects have been very positively received.
The frostiness between the two brothers was witnessed firsthand when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge appeared to ignore Prince Harry and his former Suits actress wife during their final engagement before stepping down as working royals this past March. In fact, a picture of Prince Harry furiously staring at his family members went viral shortly after the event.
In addition, the Sussexes are reportedly planning to miss Christmas at the queen’s residence at Sandringham — though this is likely just as much necessitated by COVID-19 as by family drama. As previously covered by The Inquisitr , the couple will likely return to England for the Duchess of Sussex’s court case in early January.