Here's Why Prince Harry Cancelled His Meeting with Elder Brother Prince William in 2019
The royal brothers Prince Harry and Prince William grew apart after the Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped down as working royals in 2020. Although they are now estranged to the point of 'no reconciliation,' William once reached out to Harry to meet, but the latter "canceled" his visit out of this particular fear.
Apparently, a royal correspondent claimed the 39-year-old is "so worried" about the leaking culture within the royals. Among other reasons, Prince Harry is haunted by the constant media intrusion in the personal life of the royal family. For this reason, he turned down the proposal to meet his elder brother, William, in 2019.
It was indeed heartbreaking, to put it mildly, but Harry was forced to cancel his meeting with William out of fear of being leaked what went behind closed doors. The 41-year-old wanted to meet his younger brother after the Duke and Duchess shared they were "struggling" to co-exist with the constant media attention.
Valentine Low, the royal reporter for The Times, told Hello Magazine, that Prince William initiated the meeting after the Sussexes admitted on a Southern African tour for ITV that the public life had been bothering them. Meanwhile, William and his wife, Kate Middleton, toured Pakistan.
"I think he did speak to Harry and said he wants to come and see him," revealed the royal correspondent. "And Harry was initially kind of open to this idea, but then said to William, 'Well, who are you going to tell if you come round?' William said, 'Well, you know, I have to tell my private secretary because I've got to change my diary.' And Harry said, 'Right, well, in that case, don't come.'"
According to Low, Harry feared their meeting would leak all over the media once the royal staff knew about it. Hence, he canceled it altogether. The royal expert added, "Now, it could be that Harry was also looking for an excuse to say, 'Don't come.' That's certainly what someone has suggested, that this meeting would never have taken place."
Although this incident happened in 2019, the rift grew deeper, especially after Markle and Harry's explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, followed by the Duke's tell-all memoir, Spare. A royal insider claimed their relationship "has not improved since the publication of Spare, and there is no reconciliation expected anytime soon."
The source added the brothers have trust issues. "There is no real trust at the moment and that needs to be rebuilt. There's a great deal of hurt on both sides." Since the release of Harry's book, the brothers have had no real interaction, and the two didn't even come face-to-face after King Charles' cancer announcement.
Another royal insider told Entertainment Tonight, "William is still upset about Harry's book. He feels it was a betrayal, and he has no interest in communicating with Harry before the coronation about their disagreements." Although Harry expressed interest in reconciliation, the source explained, "It is unclear when they will be able to mend fences."
