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Former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown has published a new book that spills all about the Royal Family, including the up-and-down relationship between Prince William, 39, and Prince Harry, 37. The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor—the Truth and the Turmoil breaks down dynamics in the Royal Family from Tina’s years-long research and interviews with royal sources. The book, out now, specifically touches on William’s concerns when Harry, 37, started dating his now-wife Meghan Markle, 40, around July 2016.
The Duke of Cambridge, according to the book, was “nervous about the speed” of Harry and Meghan’s relationship right away. That didn’t change even after William allegedly had a great introduction to the former Suits actress over tea at his Kensington Palace apartment, which his wife Kate Middleton was unable to attend. William allegedly knew that Meghan being a half-Black, previously-divorced Hollywood actress from the U.S would spark a media circus in the U.K, and so he feared that Harry’s “mental fragility,” per the book, “wouldn’t be strong enough” to handle that, on top of Harry’s mental health issues that mostly stem from the tragic death of their mother Princess Diana.
It’s no secret that William and Harry have had a complicated relationship since they were kids. As a toddler, William allegedly “showed signs of being a brat” in front of his family, including Queen Elizabeth, by reminding everyone that he was a future king. Diana even allegedly referred to her oldest son as “my mini tornado.” Harry, who is two years younger than William, allegedly got a sense of “freedom” due to William’s antics as children. Harry, per the book, was four years old when he allegedly told his big brother, “You’ll be king one day. I won’t. So I can do what I want.”
The “friction” between the brothers continued as adults. A Palace source revealed that William and Harry’s “interests”in their royal duties “were very close.” For example, one of their friends shared in the book that Harry was unhappy William was involved with Africa and the environment, but William “was less willing to accede” to his younger brother and felt that Harry “was breaching the agreement.” Harry, meanwhile, believed that William was “hogging the best briefs,” the friend shared in the book. HollywoodLife reached out to The Palace and Harry’s rep for comment.
William is still a senior member of the Royal Family, while Harry stepped down and moved to South California with his wife and their two children. He’s worked on several projects like the AppleTV+ limited series The Me You Can’t See, where he opened up to Oprah Winfrey about his struggles with mental health. He specifically addressed Meghan contemplating suicide before a royal engagement in 2019.
“I’m somewhat ashamed of the way that I dealt with it,” Harry said in the show. “And of course, because of the system that we were in and the responsibilities and the duties that we had, we had a quick cuddle, and then we had to get changed to jump in a convoy with a police escort and drive to the Royal Albert Hall for a charity event. Then step out into a wall of cameras and pretend as though everything’s ‘okay.’ “