Prince William is finally open to peace talks with his brother Prince Harry following years of estrangement, but one non-negotiable condition must be met.
An insider has told Rob Shuter for his Naughty But Nice Substack blog this week that the 44-year-old heir to the throne knows his longtime feud with the Duke of Sussex, 42, “cannot continue”.
“Two grown men avoiding each other is making them both look petty and foolish. Their feud has become a national joke,” the well-placed source told Shuter.
It is this realisation that has spurred arrangements to be made for the brothers to connect either via telephone conversation or video call.
However, it seems the Prince of Wales has not yet forgotten Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s public betrayal, and is refusing to budge on one condition for the talks.
“William is willing to speak to Harry, but he wants Catherine and his children kept out of Meghan’s mouth,” the insider tells Shuter.
“No public comments, no private briefings, no dragging his wife or children into their grievances. They’re off-limits.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared a number of damaging claims about Prince William and his family since walking away from their duties as senior royals in 2020.
In their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the former Suits actress, 45, claimed that Catherine Middleton, 44, made her cry over bridesmaid dresses in the lead-up to her 2018 wedding.
Furthermore, Harry penned in his 2023 memoir Spare that Meghan made an off-the-cuff remark about the Princess of Wales having “baby brain” during her pregnancy with Prince Louis, a comment that offended Kate, he claimed.
Elsewhere in the tome, the Duke of Sussex detailed a physical altercation with his brother in 2019, claiming they were embroiled in a disagreement over Meghan when William pushed him to the ground, breaking a dog bowl.
He also claimed that William and Kate encouraged him to wear a Nazi uniform to a 2005 costume party, which he later described as one of the biggest mistakes of his life.
Despite all that has been said and done, the insider iterates to Shuter that William and Harry can “rebuild their relationship” and work their way to reconciliation.
However, there is no chance that the Prince of Wales will allow his wife and children to “become collateral damage” again.
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