Prince William's ‘family might not want to see you' comment fuels Harry rift speculation
Prince William appeared to take a subtle dig at Prince Harry during a royal outing to the regiment long associated with his younger brother.
The incident unfolded on Wednesday, when the 42-year-old heir apparent visited the Army Air Corps (AAC) in Wattisham, Suffolk.
It marked William's first time touring the regiment since being named colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps, a position previously linked to Harry.
During a water break with British soldiers, William struck up a conversation about family life. 'Is the pace of life good at the moment?' he asked, according to the
Daily Mail.
'Families okay? See you enough?' When one soldier replied it was 'a mixed bag,' William quipped, 'Some of them might not want to see you that much. It's a mixed bag sometimes.'
The timing of William's comment has drawn attention, given his ongoing feud with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
William took charge of Harry's former regiment after King Charles named him colonel-in-chief in May 2024.
The Duke of Sussex, who trained as an AAC pilot in 2009 and served with the regiment in Afghanistan, was once expected to inherit the role, until he and Meghan 'stepped back' from royal duties in 2020.
The rift between the brothers has only deepened since then.
William and Harry were last seen interacting at Queen Elizabeth's funeral in September 2022, and reportedly avoided each other at King Charles' coronation in May 2023 and again at a memorial service in August 2024.
'The underlying issue is trust,' a royal insider told
People
this week.
'The King and William don't trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation.'
Meanwhile, Prince Harry's relationship with his father remains frosty, with reconciliation said to be 'extremely unlikely' even as the King deals with health challenges.
'Prince Harry has blown all trust and any reconciliation with his father and the royal family for the moment,' a royal source said.
As the royal family's divisions remain in the spotlight, William's offhand family remark has only fuelled speculation about just how deep the rift goes.
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