Prince Harry has managed to keep his sense of humor amid his estrangement from brother Prince William.
Harry brought up the subject of complex sibling relationships while attending the 20th annual WellChild awards in London on Tuesday, September 9, according to a report by Hello! Magazine.
When one recipient, 17-year-old Declan Bitmead, told the royal that he has a younger brother, Harry, 40, quipped, “Does he drive you mad?”
The teen told him they got on fine, prompting the Duke of Sussex to laugh and respond, “You know what? Siblings.”
Bitmead also revealed he and his brother attend the same school, Hello! reported. “That sometimes makes it more challenging,” said Harry, who complained in his 2023 memoir, Spare, that William told him “to pretend I didn’t know him” when they both went to Eton College.
James Whatling
William, who was at a Women’s Institute in Berkshire that same day, also alluded to sibling relationships in discussion with one of the members. His 7-year-old son, Prince Louis, “is a character,” the future king admitted, per Hello!, and “likes to run his sister [Charlotte, 10] around.”
At the event, William, 43, marked the three-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death with his wife, Princess Kate, People reported.
When Harry first arrived in his homeland, he paid a visit to his grandmother’s grave at Windsor Castle, just eight miles away, People reported, but the brothers were not expected to cross paths.
In the five years since leaving the U.K. with wife Meghan Markle, and detailing private family issues in Spare and multiple interviews, Harry has reportedly eroded the trust between them.
“The rift is very profound and very long-lasting,” royal author Robert Lacey, who wrote Battle of Brothers: William and Harry – The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, told People in August. “It will not be changed, in my opinion, until Harry makes a move and apologizes.”
WPA-Pool/ MEGA | James Whatling / MEGA
As Star previously reported, Prince Harry is hoping to meet with his ailing father, King Charles, 76, while he’s in town.
“For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach,” the source told The Mirror in August.“It’s about a simple face-to-face conversation between a father and his son. The priority is privacy and dignity, but also ensuring the door stays open for further dialogue.”
Prince Harry told the BBC in May that he had “forgiven” his father and brother, and is ready to make amends. “I would love reconciliation with my family,” he said. “There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. Life is precious.”