Prince William has been thinking about his future, and it doesn’t appear to include Prince Harry.
Prince Charles has made it clear that he wants his coronation to “look and feel different” when he becomes king, Britain’s Sunday Times reported, with friends claiming the father of three does not want the Duke of Sussex to attend.
“They are estranged and it’s extremely sad,” a close friend of the brothers told the outlet.
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A friend told the UK’s Sunday Times that Prince William (right) does not want Prince Harry (left) to attend his funeral. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
The friend also claimed that Prince William and Prince Harry have not spoken to each other for nearly two years.
Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital that he hopes Prince William won’t shut Harry out of his big day.
“Despite the sibling feud, I am confident that when the time comes, William will not be so foolish as to exclude his only brother, who is currently fifth in line to the throne, from the coronation,” Andersen said.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, which oversees the offices of Prince Charles and his wife, Prince Charles, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Prince William (left) and Prince Harry (right) have had a strained relationship since the Duke of Sussex stepped back from royal duties in 2020. (Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Prince William will ascend to the throne upon the death of his father. King Charles will become monarch when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, dies in 2022 at the age of 96.
Prince Charles and Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, are battling cancer, and the relationship between the ill brothers has been strained since Prince Harry left the royal family with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020.
“Relationship between the brothers has probably never been worse than it is now,” Andersen explained. “William and Charles have made a joint decision to effectively cut Harry out of their lives, at least for the time being. There are no signs of a reconciliation, and all involved seem to have pretty much accepted that.”
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Kate Middleton and her father-in-law, King Charles III, are both battling cancer. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
“If Harry and Meghan thought their relationship could be repaired, I don’t think they would have gone ahead with something like a royal visit to Nigeria or Colombia,” Andersen said. “We all know how upset the King and Prince William get every time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex behave as if they are still part of the royal family.”
“That being said, we mustn’t forget that Prince William is currently carrying an enormous emotional burden,” Andersen continued. “He is deeply troubled by the fact that his wife and father are battling cancer at the same time. He must be courageous not only for the sake of his three young children, but also for the sake of the Royal Family.”
Oprah Winfrey interviewed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in a 2021 special, where they opened up about the struggles of royal life. (Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping back from their royal roles in 2020. At the time, they said that their decision was prompted by what they called intolerable intrusions and racist attitudes from the British media. Since then, the father-of-two has detailed his turbulent relationship with his family in television interviews, documentaries and a memoir.
Prince Harry detailed the rivalry between his brothers in Spare. (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
In “Spare,” Harry, 39, details his rivalry with William, 42.
In the book, Prince Harry claims that during an argument in 2019, Prince William called Meghan “difficult” and “rude,” then grabbed her by the scruff of the collar and knocked her down. Harry fell into a dog bowl, leaving him with cuts and bruises. Prince Charles, he claims, begged his brothers to make up. “Please, my sons, don’t make my final years miserable,” the king pleaded after the funeral of Charles’ father, Prince Philip, in 2021.
According to multiple royal experts, Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship has been nonexistent since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the UK.
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“Despite the sibling feud, I am confident that when the time comes, William will not be so foolish as to exclude his only brother, who is currently fifth in line to the throne, from the coronation.”
On July 1, 2021, which would have been his 60th birthday, Prince Harry and Prince William attended the unveiling of a statue they commissioned for their mother, Princess Diana, in the Sunken Gardens of Kensington Palace in London. (Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that she isn’t surprised by recent reports that Prince William doesn’t want to invite Prince Harry to his coronation.
“The saddest thing is that Prince Harry is moving through life dwelling on the past,” Fordwich said. “He came from a life of privilege and was second only to Queen Elizabeth as a favorite of the royal family, and it’s sad. Because of his own actions and words, he’s now at the bottom. This is counterproductive, because lamenting sharing milk does not and cannot change the past.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks onstage during a forum on digital responsibility at EAN University on August 15, 2024 in Bogota, Colombia. (Diego Cuevas/Getty Images)
“In contrast, his brother experienced the same tragedy of losing his mother, Princess Diana, at a young age,” Fordwich said, “but he chose to focus on being productive, on serving the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, on creating new initiatives, and on gaining national attention and popularity.”
Prince William is the heir to the British throne. (Jane Barlow – Pool/Getty Images)
Mr Fordwich also claimed the monarch had chosen not to respond to the distress Prince Harry has expressed since abdicating.
“How and why could Prince William, or any other member of the royal family, trust Prince Harry again?” Fordwich said. “So reports that Prince William has not had his brother present at the coronation come as no surprise at all. The greatest irony is that while he was busy complaining about being ‘spare’, he was very involved, very valued and crucial to the future of the Commonwealth. Now he has no role.”
“As time goes on, Prince Harry will become more and more irrelevant,” Fordwich added.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020. The couple live in California with their two young children. (Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty Images)
Prince Harry flew to London for a very brief visit after his father was diagnosed with cancer in February. During the visit, which lasted about 24 hours, Prince Harry did not meet Prince William.
Speaking on “Good Morning America” shortly after his latest short trip to London, Prince Harry said his father’s illness may help bring the family closer together.
Prince William and Prince Harry attend the state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London. (Kah-wai Tan/WireImage/Getty Images)
Since Prince Harry left the royal family, the brothers’ interactions have been perfunctory and brief, though they were seen briefly putting their strained relationship aside to attend the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, at Windsor Castle in 2021. Though the two did not walk side by side behind Philip’s casket, they were photographed chatting and walking together after the service.
Prince Harry is pictured here at his father’s coronation. (Victoria Jones – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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The brothers walked side by side behind their grandmother’s coffin before her state funeral in September 2022. But when Prince Harry visited the UK for his father’s coronation, he was instructed to sit two rows behind his brother at Westminster Abbey, and the brothers were not seen chatting or greeting each other.
Harry lives in California with his wife and two young children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
