Prince William and Prince Harry are not believed to have buried the hatchet following their long-standing feud, despite the Duke of Sussex's return to the UK. The siblings, who once seemed almost inseparable, are not thought to have spoken since Harry made the dramatic decision to quit both the UK and his role as a senior working royal back in 2020.
The duke moved, along with wife Meghan Markle, to Montecito in California, to begin a new life where they vowed to become financially independent. Over the last six years the couple have been involved in several high profile interviews with stars like Oprah Winfrey, detailing their experiences within the royal family. They were also given their own Netflix series, Finding Freedom, where they discussed their life as senior working royals. Prince Harry published his memoir, Spare, where he also made a number of allegations about his royal relatives.
Return to the UK
But in August Meghan and Harry announced they were returning to the UK with their two young children, Archie and Lilibet. The youngsters have been enrolled in two schools since their arrival after the duke and duchess' security team raised concerns about the journey to and from their first choice.
Meghan has also shared an adorable social media post, detailing the couple's first few weeks back in the UK. It shows family walks in the woods, Harry fishing on a pond with his two children, and Lilibet riding her bike while Archie races along beside her. Harry has also embarked on his first public appearance at the WellChild Awards, where he made an emotional speech on stage, while Meghan has met fellow American, Ellen Degeneres, at a pub.
However, the royal couple are not believed to have built any bridges with Prince William and Kate Middleton as the Prince and Princess of Wales are said to be keen to avoid any "drama" surrounding Harry and Meghan's return.
William's two-word reply
It's a far cry from the days when the two couples were dubbed the Fab Four prior to Meghan and Harry's lavish 2018 wedding in Windsor. Tensions are believed to have developed between the two brothers long before Harry's bombshell decision to leave his role.
In his memoir, Spare, Harry talks about the moment he broke the news to his brother and sister-in-law that he was in a relationship with Meghan back in October, 2016. He wrote: "Their mouths fell open. They turned to each other. Then Willy turned to me and said: 'F–k off?'" Harry wrote. "I was baffled until Willy and Kate explained that they were regular — nay, religious — viewers of Suits. 'Great,' I thought, laughing. I've been worrying about the wrong thing. All this time I'd thought Willy and Kate might not welcome Meg into the family, but now I had to worry about them hounding her for an autograph."
Conflicting accounts of first meeting
However, there have been variations about how the two couples met from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In Harry and Meghan's engagement interview, the prince said: "William was longing to meet her, and so was Catherine. So, you know, being our neighbours, we managed to get that in a couple of — well, quite a few times now, and Catherine has been absolutely…" "She's been wonderful," Meghan interjected.
However, in their tell-all Netflix series, Meghan described their first meeting as "jarring". She said: "When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger, I didn't realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits."
"I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go 'You can relax now', but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me."
Harry also spoke about that first dinner in his book, Spare. He said that Meghan cooked and all seemed to be going well as they chatted about Wimbledon and the legal drama Suits. "The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice. Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines. No big deal, I thought."
