Prince Harry had stated that his brother and father were trapped within the monarchy.
Prince William is not "trapped," as his brother Prince Harry suggested, claims sources close to William. During Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duke of Sussex claimed that his father, Prince Charles, and brother are "trapped" within the monarchy. "I am part of the system with them, I always have been, but I guess — and I'm very aware of this — my brother can't leave that system, but I have," said Harry in the interview, reported People. "My father and my brother are trapped. They don't get to leave, and I have huge compassion for that." Oprah then asked him if William wanted to leave the royal family, to which Harry responded, "I don't know. I can't speak for him."
According to a report by The Sunday Times, a source close to William has claimed that he is in no way trapped and accepts his position in the monarchy. "He has a path set for him and he's completely accepting of his role. He is very much his grandmother's grandson in that respect of duty and service," the source told the newspaper. Prince William reportedly said his brother's remarks were "way off the mark." Prince William is second in line to the throne behind his father, Prince Charles. The source added that William, the Duke of Cambridge, was still "reeling" from his brother's interview with Oprah, in which the latter accused the royal family of racism and denying his son the title of prince. "His head is all over the place on it," said the source. Harry also spoke of his relationship with Prince William during the interview. "I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together," said Harry, before adding, "But we are on different paths." He later stated that he would "always be there" for William and his family.
As we reported, CBS' Gayle King had revealed that the pair had held conversations in the wake of the explosive interview but nothing came off it. "Harry has talked to his brother and he has talked to his father too," said King, who is friends with Oprah and Markle. "The word I was given was that those conversations were not productive. But they are glad that they have at least started a conversation." During the interview, Meghan and Harry revealed that a member of the Royal family was concerned about their future child's skin color. "There [were] conversations with Harry about how dark your baby is going to be and what that would mean or look like," reported The Oprah Magazine. After allegations of racism were leveled against the palace, Prince William responded, "We are very much not a racist family." At that time, William said he hadn't spoken to Harry but promised to.
The source also revealed that William still misses Harry and wants to move past what has happened. There was reportedly tension among the brothers following Harry and Meghan's exit from the Royal family but William wants to patch things up. "Once he got over the anger of how things happened, he was left with the absence of his brother," the source told The Sunday Times. "They shared everything about their lives, an office, a foundation, meetings together most days and there was a lot of fun along the way. He'll miss it forever." Another friend of William's who spoke to the outlet reportedly said he was "very upset by what's happened" but he's "absolutely intent that he and Harry's relationship will heal in time." Gayle King said no one really wants to hold a grudge against each other despite the differences. "They both want to move forward with this and they both want healing in this family. At the end of the day, that is Harry's family."
References:
https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a35757402/meghan-markle-archie-skin-color/
Cover image credit: Getty Images | Photo by Gareth Fuller - WPA Pool
