'Angry' Prince William's move over brother Harry that signals 'there's no way back' following 'irreparable damage'
The Duke of Sussex was back on British soil last week for an important reasonPrince William’s recent actions during brother Harry’s return to the UK could be a major sign in their reported rift, a royal expert has claimed.
Last week, the Duke of Sussex was back in Britain to attend court hearings for his privacy legal case against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Despite being back on British soil, it’s believed that Prince Harry didn’t meet with his family. This is different to his last UK return in September 2025, when he met with his father, King Charles, at Clarence House.
Prince Harry returns to the UK for legal case
Last week, Prince Harry arrived in the UK from his home in the US to attend a series of court hearings.
Harry, 41, is part of a group of high-profile claimants suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail. The group includes Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley.
They are all bringing legal action against ANL for alleged unlawful information gathering methods.
They claim ANL had written articles based on information, which was gathered unlawfully, like phone hacking, phone tapping and blagging. The publisher strongly denied the allegations.
During the hearings, Harry took to the witness stand at London’s High Court. He emotionally spoke about his experience with the British press.
Did Harry meet with his brother Prince William?
It’s believed that Prince Harry didn’t meet any members of his family during his latest UK return.
On January 20, while Harry was attending hearings, Prince William travelled to Scotland for a series of engagements with his wife, the Princess of Wales.
Meanwhile, King Charles was also reportedly in Scotland.
Harry’s actions and words would have caused huge, almost irreparable damage to a normal family.
According to royal commentator Duncan Larcombe, this move by Prince William, 43, shows the state of his relationship with Harry.
Speaking to the Mirror, Mr Larcombe said: “Court cases notoriously never start when they say they’re going to, so it wasn’t a set-in-stone date for this trial.
“But it seems to be more than just a coincidence that William had taken himself out of the country, ensuring he was nowhere near Windsor, or where Harry might be. It wasn’t the first time he was out of town when Harry had a court hearing.”
‘William is still incredibly angry’
Mr Larcombe went on to claim: “William is still incredibly angry at his brother. Harry’s actions and words would have caused huge, almost irreparable damage to a normal family. The fact it is happening within the royal family adds to the magnitude of how badly Harry has behaved in William’s eyes.”
He added that at the moment, there’s “no way back” and it looks as if William “doesn’t have an ounce of sympathy for his brother, or an ounce of support for him”.
However, the expert said “never say never” to things turning around.
Read more: Prince Harry announcement made as he’s set to deliver important speech following UK return
Harry has grew distant from his family since quitting royal duties in 2020. His tell-all interviews and explosive memoir, Spare, are believed to have damaged relations further.
In his book, Harry made a series of claims about his father and brother. He alleged Prince William physically attacked him during an altercation over his wife, Meghan Markle.
However, in May last year, Harry called for a reconciliation. He told the BBC: “Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. But I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight any more.”
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