Prince William Was ‘Completely Broken’ and ‘Grieving’ After Harry's Exit From Royal Family: Expert

Prince William and Prince Harry were close since childhood, having lost their mom, Princess Diana, at a young age. Following Harry’s exit from the royal family with his wife, Meghan Markle, the brothers’ equation has taken a hit, so much so that they are reportedly not on talking terms anymore. Royal experts have claimed that William felt 'broken' and ‘grieved’ the loss of his brother when he decided to move to the US.

In a new Channel 5 documentary, Megxit: Inside the Sandringham Summit, royal experts and commentators detailed an alleged private conversation between Harry and William, The Mirror reported. They claimed that back in 2020, the Sussexes' announcement about their royal exit forced Queen Elizabeth to hold a private meeting at her Norfolk estate. She allegedly had a roundtable discussion with then-Prince Charles, William, and Harry about their future. In Markle’s absence, Harry himself defended his decision before his family and ended up losing his police security in the U.K. Royal expert Charlotte Griffiths explaining the Prince of Wales’ stance, argued, “William must have felt such a sense of relief, but also great sadness because he was really, officially losing his brother.”

Griffiths continued, “What I heard at the time was that William started grieving for his brother...really grieving, like he'd lost, not only his mother, years ago, but his brother as well, and I think he was just genuinely quite sad, and completely broken.” The meeting allegedly ended with the decision that the Sussexes will opt for a complete break from their duties. The two brothers later reportedly headed to the garden to have a word with one another, where Harry got a chance to explain himself. Expert Jack Royston said, “Harry got the chance to do what he wanted to do, which was explain himself to his brother.”

The expert added that William did not ‘argue back’ and chose to be all ears to his brother’s explanation. Royston further opined, “I think it was important for Harry to feel like he had a chance to say his piece, and it was important for William to come away from it feeling like he didn't turn it into a big argument or shut it down.”

As per the experts, the relationship between Harry and William remained cordial initially after the former's royal exit, but changed when the Sussexes sat down for their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, followed by their Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan. The Duke's tell-all memoir, Spare, which exposed many private conversations with his family members, also didn't help. After years of feuding, Harry recently expressed his wish to reconcile with his family in his bombshell BBC interview. However, William, reportedly, remains unmoved, having lost all 'trust' in Harry.