Royally Astonished: Prince William Caught Off Guard by Prince Harry's 'Success' Amid Reunion Regrets

Prince William is the heir to the most "popular" monarchy in the world, but the Prince of Wales is said to be caught off guard by how his brother, Prince Harry, garnered solo success.

Royal historian Ed Owens told an outlet that the rebel, Montecito Duke has gone on to do "remarkable things" with his highly-praised Invictus Games. He said that the sporting event "now has an international presence, and I think that international stage is something both brothers are clearly vying for. That international limelight really sets Harry's work apart."

Royal expert Robert Jobson echoed this assessment and stated: "I think there was a degree of jealousy about how well it had gone. I do think that William was surprised how much this had been such a success and how much money was being thrown into it and how many governments were getting involved."

These insights follow the Duke of Sussex' claims while promoting his memoir, Spare, in early 2023. One former palace aide also revealed that the brothers started to develop a rift between one another years before Meghan Markle appeared in the late 2000s.

During an interview with Good Morning America, while promoting the book, Harry stated: "There has always been this competition between us, weirdly. I think it really plays into or always played by the heir/spare."

This follows reports in late 2023 that describe the feud as "severe as a family feud can possibly get."

A publication reported that King Charles has a level of "determination to try and reconcile" with Harry, but William's pals noted that the future king has a different stance on their public feud.

"He absolutely f------ hates him," the insider told the outlet."Harry sold his family out to the media for millions of dollars, and William can’t forgive that breach of trust."

"I think it’s exactly because the bond was so deep that the betrayal has been so wounding," the source noted. "They were the only people who actually knew what each other had been through."

"How would you feel if your best friend decided to reveal all your personal secrets to the newspapers," the confidant questioned. "Well, multiply that by a thousand."

The fifth in line to the throne flew from Montecito to visit the monarch in a much-hyped reunion event on February 6, but subsequently only spent one hour with his dad, who was receiving cancer treatments by that point. The fiery-haired prince was in Britain for a full 24 hours, and royal analysts criticized him for his "blink, and you'll miss it" visit.

"The King announcing he had cancer was totally unprecedented and incredibly brave — but suddenly the focus was on what Harry was doing," a palace insider spilled after the father-son reunion. "He seems to have this knack of making it all about him," the source told an outlet.

Daily Express reported on the expert opinions.