The stars of the British royal family, Prince Harry, 36, and Prince William, 38, are striving to repair their relationship as brothers, after having a serious "feud" over the past years, though it is still early to say whether they will ever as close as they once were, Us Weekly reported Wednesday.
Citing an anonymous source, the outlet claims that the royal brothers have made concrete steps to mend their alleged rift, although there still may be a long way to go.
"It’s certainly been a roller coaster for everyone involved, especially the brothers, who are vowing not to let things get this out of hand in the future and have learned a lot from this difficult experience," the magazine quotes the source as saying.
The source added that the decision of the brothers to try and reconcile was met with "a lot of rejoicing" in the royal family, including the British Queen Elizabeth II, their grandmother.
"William and Harry’s fallout was very real, very ugly and incredibly intense," the insider claimed. "They’d reached an impasse, there was so much mud under the bridge and a lot of people felt their feud was beyond repair."
In an earlier interview, Prince Harry confirmed that he and William were "on different paths" in 2019. There is a consideration that things between the brothers escalated when Harry and his wife announced in January last year that they were "stepping back" as senior members of the royal family.
According to the report, the brothers will most likely meet in person in England sometime this year, and they both reportedly "look forward to spending time together."
"[William and Harry] are looking forward to spending time together in person the moment it’s safe to travel," the source said. "But at some point in 2021, the Cambridges will travel to Santa Barbara and see the Sussexes on their new home turf."
Harry and Meghan, who still retain their royal title of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, currently live in Santa Barbara, California, with their 1-year-old son.
A British royal historian and biographer claimed earlier in an interview with Fox News that William was concerned over Harry's romantic relationship with Markle from the time the couple announced their engagement in 2017, mostly because of the swiftness of that decision and the enormous pressure that royal status inflicts on one in such a relationship.
Harry and the Megxit story
The Sussexes decision reportedly came as a shock to the family. It was reported that the Queen quickly gathered the Sandringham Summit to discuss the terms of Harry and Meghan's exit, with the British media quickly dubbing the process "Megxit" in resemblance to the other world-famous exit negotiation, Brexit. According to royal insiders, Prince William even refused to see his younger brother at lunch before the convention.
After the formalities were discussed, the Sussexes moved to Canada and then to Los Angeles, where they stayed through much of 2020. Since their move to the US, the couple has made a few TV show deals, which promised new "revelations" on royal family life, which reportedly caused even more unrest within the royal family over what secrets the ex-royals might reveal in those shows.
When Harry will first visit his homeland this year remains unknown, due to the raging COVID-19 pandemic blocking travel, but it appears that it will most likely occur on the Queen's 95th birthday and Prince Philip’s 100-year-jubilee in June. If it happens in full format, the brothers will surely have to meet each other at the official unveiling of the statue devoted to their late mother, Princess Diane, at some point this year.
