During the Prince of Wales appearance on The Reluctant Traveller, he made only one mention of his estranged brother Prince Harry, with whom his relationship has been strained for years
Prince William and Prince Harry have famously been at odds with one another for several years, with their now fabled feud defining much of their relationship.
It is believed that the warring brothers have not spoken for years, and while a reunion between King Charles and the Duke of Sussex may be on the cards, the same cannot be said for William and Harry. Despite their ongoing rift, the Prince of Wales made one fleeting mention of his estranged brother during his recent appearance on The Reluctant Traveller : a travel programme on Apple TV hosted by Canadian actor Eugene Levy.
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During William’s conversation with the show’s host, they began speaking about the history of the monarchy and how William hopes to not repeat the past when he ascends the throne. He said: “I hope we don’t go back to some of the practices in the past that Harry and I had to grow up in. And I’ll do everything I can to make sure we don’t regress in that situation.”
During the 40-minute episode, it is the only time he mentions Harry, which according to historian Robert Lacey, speaks volumes on the status of their fractured relationship.
He told People magazine : “They are clearly part of the past. He talked about his brother in the past, as part of his life — not in the future.”
After the episode of the show aired, The Reluctant Traveller host Eugene Levy told ITV News that he was not instructed to steer clear of asking William about Harry and Meghan, but chose not to bring them up during their candid conversation.
He said: “I was not told I couldn’t ask anything, but it wasn’t really, you know, up to me, to get into that. I had no interest in asking him about that, because it was a very delicate issue and certainly not up to me to get into it.”
Royal biographer Andrew Morton said that Eugene avoiding the topic was a smart tactic for their interview, saying: “If you want the prince to talk openly, you avoid asking about his brother.”
William and Harry’s relationship began to fracture when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California. Since their self-imposed exile, the rift between the princes has only widened after a series of public jabs against the Firm.
Harry and Meghan first spoke out about their experiences in the royal family during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, only to be followed by a Netflix documentary series in 2022 and Harry’s memoir Spare in 2023.
At Harry’s own admission, the seemingly endless spate of allegations against the royal family may have jeopardised his relationship with his family for good, as he told the BBC in May: “Some members of my family will never forgive me.”
Despite not talking about his brother during the programme, royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith said that by William speaking so openly about the history of the monarchy, he is breaking a streak of “ostriching” within the Firm – known as “avoiding discussions of emotional problems in hopes that they would go away.”
William spoke openly about the fact that he hopes to change things within the monarchy when he becomes King, noting that: “Change is good.” While the Prince of Wales is determined to revolutionize the Firm, it seems he is intent on a monarchy more emotionally attuned and grounded in everyday life.
