Harry's rift with William won't get fixed unless he gets back to the UK and talks to his brother, claims expert
A former royal press secretary has said the relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William that has gone sour since the Megxit announcement won’t be fixed until both of them are on the same side of the ocean. Dickie Arbiter said both the brothers need to be in the UK to mend the relationship.
“I hope they settle their rift because there shouldn’t be bad blood amongst brothers, particularly those two brothers who went through such trauma together [with the] death of their mother,” Arbiter told Us Weekly. “They’ve been through a lot, and they’ve carried each other, and they’ve supported each other. And to have a rift is not healthy in any family. So I hope they are getting back together again.”
After stepping down from the senior royal duties earlier this year, Harry and Meghan are currently living in Los Angeles with their one-year-old son Archie. They have rented Tyler Perry's $18 million Beverly Hills mansion. The author of ‘On Duty With the Queen’ continued: “Harry being in Los Angeles and William and Catherine being in the United Kingdom, [there’s] a great big ocean, a lot of land between, and it’s not going to be broached until such time they actually get together [and Harry comes] back to the UK. That’s the million-dollar question… So if they’re talking on the phone, well, that’s a step in the right direction, but it would be nice if they could actually meet up.”
A report in May claimed that the royal brothers are “back in touch” and their relationship is on the mend after a string of events that took place over the past few months, including their father Prince Charles' battle with Covid-19, Harry’s move from the palace, and reported conflict between Meghan and Kate Middleton. “There have been clearly some quite major rifts in that relationship, but things have got better and I know that William and Harry are in touch on the phone. They have done video calls together, they have done a lot of family birthdays and I think with Prince Charles not being well, that really forced the brothers to pick up the phone and get back in touch,” royal expert Katie Nicholl said at the time.
Nicholl added: “I think there is a sense of relief on both sides that this high drama is now a thing of the past. The Sussexes are free to get on with their new lives [and] the Cambridges can get back to their old lives without all the upset and drama that was clearly a big deal behind the scenes. I think Kate and William miss Harry and Meghan to a degree, but certainly, they miss Harry [being] around and part of their lives.”
The royal expert also said that the royal family may have done a group video call for Archie’s birthday, who turned one on May 6. “I am quite sure there would have been communication between the Cambridges and the Prince of Wales and I am told Harry picks up the phone regularly to talk to his grandmother, the queen. They had that same call on her birthday. I'm sure there was a Zoom birthday call for Archie, too,” Nicholl stated.