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Prince William wanted Harry by his side when he became king but was disappointed as they drifted apart

'Courtiers imagined in the future that Harry would be shoulder-to-shoulder with William when he was King,' said Penny Junor, the author of 'Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son'
UPDATED JAN 17, 2020
Prince Harry (L) and Prince William (Getty Images)
Prince Harry (L) and Prince William (Getty Images)

Before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced that they would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family, the youngest son of Princess Diana was on his path to assist his elder brother, Prince William, run the monarchy after he became the king of the United Kingdom.

“Courtiers imagined in the future that Harry would be shoulder-to-shoulder with William when he was King,” Penny Junor, author of 'Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son,' told People magazine. “He would pick up the bits that William wouldn’t be as good for. They would be complimentary and side-by-side throughout their lives.”

She added: “That was a lovely picture. Harry was the secret weapon, really.”

However, the perfectly devised plans flew out of the window as the brothers grew up and focused on separate things that they are passionate about. The gap between them widened when Harry first told his family he wanted to marry Meghan.

While the Duke of Cambridge thought that his little brother was rushing into marriage after just dating Meghan for less than a year, he had dated Kate Middleton for eight years before tying the knot. When he mentioned to Harry that he thought things were moving too quickly between him and Meghan, the Duke of Sussex reportedly got hurt and angry. 

 Prince Harry and Prince William (R) hold an African rock python during a visit to Mokolodi Education Centre on June 15, 2010 in Gaborone, Botswana. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

As a result, brothers who once leaned on each other in the wake of their mother's tragic and untimely death began moving away from one another. Junor said that the fact that Harry was the "spare" sibling might have been one of the reasons behind 'Megxit.'

“It’s not terribly good for your self-confidence,” says Junor. “He was always compared to William: William was the good-looking one, the important one, the clever one. Harry was the also-ran. I think that did take a toll on him.”

The rift apparently existed long before Harry decided to get married and his American-born wife just coaxed him to follow his heart. “When Meghan came around and she was interested in making changes, he welcomed it,” says a friend.

Following an all-important meeting at Sandringham with her son and grandsons, the Queen reluctantly allowed Harry and Meghan to quit the royal family. 

“My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family. Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family," she had said in a statement. 

Meghan is currently with the couple’s 8-month-old son Archie on Canada’s Vancouver Island, where they have been staying since late November. She returned to Canada soon after the couple made the bombshell announcement. Harry stayed behind in the UK to smoothen out the process and talk to the royal family. Harry is set to reunite with them soon. 

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