Harry had fallen out with William before Meghan came into his life: 'He felt William didn't want him to be happy'
Princes Harry and William's relationship was frayed even before the former met Meghan Markle and is now "worse than ever", it has been claimed.
Harry had seemingly confirmed a rift with his brother during an interview with ITV's Tom Bradby during his trip to South Africa. "We don't see each other as much as we used to as we are so busy," he had said. "But I love him dearly and you know the majority of the stuff is probably — well, the majority of the stuff is created out of nothing."
"But as brothers, you have good days and you have bad days," he had added.
And while it was previously reported that the brothers held secret peace talks after Megxit to mend their relationship, their meeting during what was Harry and Meghan's last round of royal engagements seemed to suggest anything but. Harry greeted William with just a brief, tight-lipped smile, and then they sat far away from each other.
This tension has been building between them long before Harry met Meghan, and can be traced to the younger brother prematurely leaving the military in 2015, according to the Daily Mail.
Harry, who served 10 years in the Army and rose to the rank of a captain, is said to have found life in the army fulfilling and found adapting to civilian life difficult, even considering working as a firefighter or a rugby coach because he could not find a job suitable for a prince.
It was something that he spoke about during what he thought was a telephonic conversation with environmental activist Greta Thunberg, but what ultimately turned out to be a prank by Russian miscreants. He said that his military service had made him "more normal than my family would like to believe."
"Harry has always been looking for signs that he belongs, but soon all he could see – I think wrongly – were signs that told him he wasn't needed," a source close to the family said. "He should have taken his father's advice and stayed in the military. Leaving the Army was the worst thing he could have done."
The Duke of Sussex's isolation was further exacerbated by feelings that he was becoming a "third wheel" to William and Kate in their shared charitable foundation and that he was not an "equal partner" in their work.
Meghan's introduction to the mix complicated matters further and Harry felt attacked when William asked him not to rush into marriage as he did not know her too well. The younger sibling felt the intervention was "overbearing and patronizing" and that William was trying to "begrudge him his happiness."
Harry was also said to be unhappy about being on the sidelines and watching as his brother, the future king, got all the attention.
"One [brother] is going to be King and the other is not and therefore has to figure out what that [life] looks like," a source said. "It didn't help that William never let Harry forget which of them was going to be King."
William was reportedly "insulted" by his brother's recent comments about the royal family following Megxit, including the remarks made on the Sussex Royal website, and feels he has "disrespected" the institution of the monarchy and their grandmother, the Queen.
Harry, on the other hand, is said to be "profoundly unhappy" as he believes he has been cut adrift by his family, that Meghan was not made sufficiently welcome, and that his work is seen as less important compared to that of his brother.
Their relationship has now fractured to the point where they barely even speak to each other. "I'm sure they will be reconciled eventually but at the moment it's raw," a source said. "It will take a long time to heal. I can't see a way forward now."