As Prince Harry continues his rare visit to the UK, all eyes will be on his and Prince William’s diaries, as the warring brothers make separate appearances today
Princes William and Harry will go head-to-head in with engagements both in the UK today – a day after the feuding brothers honoured the late Queen separately, just 15 minutes apart.
The estranged pair were just seven miles from each other as they paid their respects to the nation’s longest-reigning monarch and their late grandmother on the third anniversary of her death yesterday.
But the warring brothers are not expected to meet while Harry continues out his first visit to the UK in five months today, with their long-running rift showing no sign of abating. Later, William is set to visit a youth organisation in Lambeth, south London, while Harry will revisit the Community Recording Studio (CRS) in Nottingham’s St Ann’s area.
READ MORE: Prince Harry set to make huge announcement on UK visit without Meghan MarkleREAD MORE: Prince Harry makes cryptic quip about ‘challenging siblings’ as he and William stay apart
Yesterday, Harry flew in from the US, and began his solo trip with a poignant pilgrimage to his grandmother’s grave in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The Duke, who was later at the WellChild Awards in London, laid a wreath and flowers privately at Elizabeth II’s tomb in the King George VI Memorial Chapel on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, William and the Princess of Wales were a short car ride away in Sunningdale, Berkshire, as they visited the National Federation of Women’s Institutes (WI) in tribute to the late Queen’s decades-long association with the organisation.
And royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop likened the pair to ‘repelling magnets’. She told the Mirror: “‘I can’t believe its been three years already.’ Prince William exclaimed over the time passed since the death of his grandmother, the late Elizabeth II. Time flies.
“But much more time will be needed to heal the gigantic rift between the Prince of Wales and his younger brother. On the third anniversary of the late Queen’s death the two men were less than ten miles apart; William at a Women’s Institute meeting in Sunningdale, Harry laying a wreath on his grandmother’s grave in St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
“Like repelling magnets the two brothers did their best to look meaningfully busy while studiously avoiding each other. It does not need to be this hard. Or painful.”
Harry last visited the CRS to mark World Mental Health Day in October 2019, just two months before he and Meghan announced they were stepping down as senior working royals and moving to North America.
He is planning to hold a private briefing with Children in Need, the Police and Crime Commission, the CRS and community outreach group Epic Partners in Nottingham, stage informal catch-ups with some of the young people he met before, and watch performances from CRS artists and make a short speech.
The Duke is hoping to bring together key stakeholders, influencers and potential funders to shine a light on the work of grassroots organisations such as CRS and Epic Partners and the sports apprenticeship body Coach Core.
Meanwhile, William will visit Spiral Skills, which has received funding from the prince’s homelessness initiative Homewards to move into a new hub for young people at The Oasis Village, Tulse Hill.
The youth organisation was founded in 2015 and works with local schools, youth organisations and authorities to provide early intervention, support, employability skills and access to employment and services for 14 to 25-year-olds, Kensington Palace said.
The prince will visit the organisation at its new space and see how it offers support for those who need it, before attending a workshop with Young Creators UK, a creative agency run and owned by underrepresented young people which receives referrals from Spiral Skills.
William will be joined by Homewards advocate and former England midfielder Fara Williams to hear about how the organisation has helped people to gain confidence and learn new skills.
Last night, the Duke of Sussex looked dapper as he arrived suited and booted at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel for the WellChild awards, where he delivered a speech on what marked the annual ceremony’s 20th anniversary.
After posing for a photo opportunity with the Vice Chairman of WellChild, Harry, who has been a patron of the charity for 17 years, met with some of the young recipients. In one particularly adorable moment, Harry played with a young girl named Gwen, who showed off her fancy trainers to the royal before engaging in a balloon sword fight.
While chatting to Declan Bitmead, 17 – winner of the inspirational young person 15-18 years award, Harry asked him if he had any siblings, to which the teenager replied he had a younger brother.
“Does he drive you mad?” the Duke quizzed, to which Declan responde “no, we get on fine”. Smiling, Harry then quipped: “You know what – siblings”.
After learning that the teen, from Oxted in Surrey, attended the same school as his brother, the Duke tellingly remarked, “you’re at the same school, that sometimes makes it more challenging”.
While Harry is expected to potentially have a long overdue reunion with his father, King Charles, during his rare trip to UK shores, it is extremely unlikely that the Duke of Sussex will see his estranged brother, William.
Despite an olive branch being extended between the Sussex camp and the Firm earlier this year when senior aides to both Harry and Charles met in London, William is said to have firmly declined any potential reunion with his brother after years of public jabs between the two princes.
However, when it comes to Harry and Charles, sources have said there is a determination on both sides to make a meeting happen, with Wednesday being touted as a potential date.
Harry, who previously admitted he wanted reconciliation with his family, is said to be ready to ‘drop everything’ to attend a meeting. A source said: “As Harry has stated before, he’d love to see his family and be reconciled.”
However, both Buckingham Palace and spokespeople for Harry have refused to be drawn on when or whether a meeting will take place.
Father and son last met face to face almost 20 months ago when the Duke made a transatlantic dash to see the monarch in February 2024 after hearing of his cancer diagnosis, but they spent just over 30 minutes together before the King left to recuperate in Sandringham.
And Tessa added: “There are many naysayers who see no reason for senior royalty to forgive Harry after his barrage of published criticism from across the Atlantic.
“But most who understand the increasingly thin ground upon which the royals skate, believe that the King has to reconcile with his youngest son – the optics demand it and Harry clearly wants it.
Charles has no public engagements this week, and travels from Balmoral to London for his cancer treatment, surely a communal cup of tea is not too much to ask?
“The British monarchy is the constitutional equivalent of a diplomatic panacea; nodding, visiting, reassuring, consoling across the domestic and international agenda, but what does any of it mean if the King cannot forgive his son?
And, standing in the monarch’s shadow, the future King cannot forgive his younger brother? Harold the spare, the small red-headed boy born into an unhappy marriage, in a relentlessly public-facing institution with a mother who died when he was 12.
“Recently Harry has moved his own goal posts: the Duke longer demands an apology, he admits he misses the UK and is in England for several days on a series of charity missions. The Prince clearly wants to make it better. Here’s hoping someone in the Royal Family is able to join the dots.
