Princess Diana had hoped brothers Harry and William would remain ‘as close as possible’

The late Princess Diana would be disappointed to see that her sons Prince William and Prince Harry were no longer “as close as possible” like she’d hoped.

The two brothers have been distant in recent years, and largely since Prince Harry stepped back from the Royal Family in 2020 alongside wife Meghan Markle.

Their relationship has also been rocked by comments made by Prince Harry since his exit including during his Netflix series, an interview with Oprah Winfrey and his 2023 autobiography Spare.

The brothers have been described by a royal commentator who recalled how they were “really close” and that their mother had always wished them to stay that way. The pair were once inseparable, and especially after their mother’s death when they were just 15 and 12.

Read More: Prince Harry was set to be William’s ‘top adviser’ but that’s now ‘out of the window’

Royal expert Charles Rae explained whilst on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show : “They [Prince William and Prince Harry] were really, really close. And this is what makes it so sad that they’re now so far apart.” He added: “That’s what Diana always wanted, the boys to remain as close as possible, they had each other, and it was them against the rest of the world but of course now it’s not happening.”

The comments come as Prince Harry is set to return to the UK next month as he celebrates 10 years of the Invictus Games, and it’s thought he could reunite with his brother. However it’s thought that the Duke of Sussex might feel ‘forced’ into a meeting rather than try and find excuses to avoid an awkward meeting.

Royal author Tom Quinn exclusively told The Mirror : “Barring a major upset, Harry will certainly return to the UK for the Invictus games in May – it’s his baby. If he decides not to come, it will take some explaining, because everyone will assume it’s because he doesn’t want the awkwardness of having to meet his brother or having to choose not to meet him.”

The relationship between Harry and his older brother has been tense in recent years, with Harry revealing the pair had serious fall outs in the run up to him stepping back from the Royal Family four years ago. Harry alleged that William ‘knocked him to the floor’ in one extract from his book Spare, as he explained that William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row. He then claimed his brother “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.