Prince William “Felt Utterly Abandoned” by Prince Harry, Princess Diana’s Biographer Says

Rachel BurchfieldTue, August 25, 2026 at 5:49 PM UTC

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Prince William and Prince Harry on July 1, 2021.Credit: GettyThe Gist -

Brothers Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly haven’t been in contact with one another since 2022 at their grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.

Princess Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton said that William was “deeply hurt” by what Harry publicly said about him and the institution in Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare, and Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2022 eponymous Netflix docuseries.

The Prince of Wales “felt utterly abandoned” by his younger brother, Morton said.

Prince William and Prince Harry reportedly have not been in contact since their grandmother Queen Elizabeth’s funeral—which took place four years ago next month.

The brothers, who are the sons of King Charles and Princess Diana, have also lived an ocean apart—but that’s about to change. Harry, along with his wife Meghan Markle and their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are due to move back to the U.K. imminently, arriving there by the end of August to prepare the children to start school in September.

According to Diana’s biographer Andrew Morton, William “felt utterly abandoned” by Harry, adding that “it will take a long, long time for him to recover from that” (per The Mirror).

Prince William and Prince Harry on September 19, 2022.Credit: Getty

Morton said that he wasn’t surprised that Harry is returning to the U.K., as the Duke of Sussex sent several “smoke signals” over the past year. “What is surprising is the speed with which they’ve moved,” he said.

“I find it amazing that they’ve chosen schools, somewhere to live, move the whole place out without sticking their toe in the water first,” Morton continued.

While Harry is improving his relationship with his father, the king—the Sussexes met with Charles and Queen Camilla in July—Morton said that it will likely be tougher to reconcile with William. “I think William has been deeply hurt by what Harry wrote and said about him, especially given the medical condition of Catherine and his father,” Morton said on Times Radio. In 2024, both Charles and Kate Middleton were diagnosed with cancer; the Princess of Wales is in remission, while the king’s cancer treatment was reduced in 2026.

Upon their return to the U.K., Harry and Meghan won’t resume the working royal roles they left in 2020 to move to the United States. They also won’t be living in a royal residence, opting to live on a private property outside of London. The move also isn’t thought to be permanent, though an exact timeframe for their time in the U.K. hasn’t been shared.

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on August 7, 2026.Credit: Getty

Harry, Morton said, will thrive being back in his home country. “He’s back with his friends, his family…members of his family that he still gets on with—obviously not William,” he said. “And he can do his charity work. He’s got the Invictus Games coming up in Birmingham next year. That’s going to take a lot of organizing. So, he’s a happy camper.”

William, though, is still “smoldering with anger,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told The Mirror. According to the outlet, friends of the Prince and Princess of Wales said that while they “cannot forgive” Harry and Meghan for accusations made against the royal family over the years, they are determined to “look forward to the future.”

Kate Middleton and Prince William in Wales on February 26, 2026.Credit: Getty

Speaking to Hello!, royal biographer Robert Jobson said of Harry’s return that “William must be slightly aghast by the whole thing. The return of the prodigal son will be difficult for him.”

A friend of Harry and Meghan’s told the outlet that the couple plans to take reconciliation efforts with the royal family “One step at a time.”

“I don’t think anything will be immediate,” the friend said. “They’re obviously going to move and get the kids into school, and we’ll see how it goes from there. But I hope there’s a way that this could all work harmoniously.”

A source told People that Harry’s move to the U.K. will bring about more chances to interact with William, “whether they want it or not,” a source said. Charles, for his part, “will want to see his sons together over time. This is the best opportunity we have seen in recent years.”

Queen Camilla, King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry in 2017.Credit: Getty

William, according to a new report from Vanity Fair, “is very concerned that Harry and Meghan will want to try and implement the ‘half in, half out’ model Queen Elizabeth vetoed at the Sandringham Summit [in 2020],” a source told the publication. “They are wary about the whole move back to Britain. Charles is happy to see Harry come home, but for William, the breakdown of trust is a key issue.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”