5 Photos That Show Just How Deep Prince Harry’s Feud With His Family Runs

Prince Harry stepping down as a working royal effectively changed his relationship with the Royal Family. Over the years, several photos have shown the changing family dynamics. Although the pictures look ordinary at first, a closer look reveals the icy tensions.

Harry and Meghan Markle's final appearance at the Commonwealth Day 2020 as senior working royals came at a time when things within the family were already looking tense. The couple sat behind William and Kate at Westminster Abbey, but photos from the event show very little interaction and a noticeable lack of conversation between them. Us Weekly also reported that an insider revealed that William and Harry only spoke about business matters, and Kate and Markle did not talk at all. It was just weeks after Harry and Markle announced they would step back from royal duties.

Just days before Harry and Meghan announced they were stepping back as senior royals, Buckingham Palace released a photo of Queen Elizabeth II with Charles, William and Prince George. The image was meant to show the monarch with the three future kings, but it quickly took on a different meaning amid the family tensions. As per Tatler, royal author Robert Lacey claimed in his book, Battle of Brothers, “The plan of depicting the direct line of royal succession was enthusiastically supported by Prince William, which might be seen as sending his younger brother a message… It was as if Harry had become un-brothered.”

Harry and Markle's walkabout with William and Kate outside Windsor Castle in 2022 was surprising, to say the least. The four had not been seen together publicly in more than two years. Their reunion came on Queen Elizabeth’s passing. The 'Fab Four' undertook a joint walkabout reportedly at King Charles' request, meeting mourners and looking at the flowers left in honor of the late Queen. Photos from the day showed the two couples spending much of the time on separate sides of the crowd, with Kate and Markle looking particularly uncomfortable around each other.

Harry and Markle’s return to a royal event in 2022 came with a noticeable change in where they fit into the family. At the National Service of Thanksgiving, they were seated in the second row, while William and Kate and Charles and Camilla were across the aisle in the front. They were all under the same roof, but the photos made it clear the couple no longer held the same place within the Royal Family. Moreover, Harry was invited by the late Queen to only watch the Platinum Jubilee celebrations and was not asked to join on the balcony for the official flypast after Trooping the Color (via The Guardian).

Queen Elizabeth’s 2019 Christmas broadcast had one detail that was hard to miss. Photos of Prince Philip, Charles and Camilla, and William and Kate with their children were all on display as she gave her annual message. But Harry and Markle were nowhere to be seen. This was especially noticeable because a photo from their wedding had appeared in the Queen’s Christmas message the year before. With reports of growing tensions already swirling back then, the couple's absence stood out even more.