Prince William and Prince Harry "Unified" After the Death of Their Mother Princess Diana

"Please, please remember, don’t ever forget that you’re brothers."

Prince William, Princess Diana, and Prince Harry at VE Remembrance Service in London on May 7, 1995.
(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

Prince William and Prince Harry's brotherly relationship has been a hot topic of conversation in recent years. Since the Duke of Sussex stepped down as a senior member of the royal family and moved to California with his wife Meghan Markle, rumors of a Royal Family feud have persisted. However, according to royal expert Ingrid Seward, William and Harry discovered they had a strong bond as children.

In an interview with The Sun's Royal Exclusive, Seward explained, "I remember after William went on his gap year... Harry said, 'He’s much nicer now.'"

Seward also suggested that, although the brothers weren't always close, they found an unbreakable bond following the tragic death of their mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.

"They were only really close after their mother died," Seward alleged. "Of course, they unified and they were the only two people that knew what it felt like."

Seward also referenced a personal conversation she allegedly had with Princess Diana about the young Princes. According to Seward, "She always said to them, 'Please, please remember, don’t ever forget that you’re brothers and I want you to be friends.'"

Prince Harry and Prince William at Highgrove House on July 18, 1986.

Prince Harry and Prince William at Highgrove House on July 18, 1986.

(Image credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

During the interview, Seward also alleged, "[Prince Harry] would sometimes pretend that he was ill at school so [Diana] could pick him up and take him home so he could sit and watch television with her all afternoon. He was a very tactile young boy. Very close to his mother."

A recent Daily Mail column by Harry Howard revisited Prince Harry's birth name, which is Prince Henry. Howard explained, "Former police bodyguard Ken Wharfe recalled how he would regularly hear Diana scolding Harry with the words: 'Henry, no!'"

Prince Harry also reportedly got up to some mischief as a child, with Howard writing, "[He] forged his nanny's handwriting in an attempt to trick his family's chef, Darren McGrady, into making him pizza for dinner instead of roast chicken."

Prince Harry turned 40 on September 15, and Prince William shared a birthday message to his brother on social media. King Charles and Queen Camilla also posted their own tribute to the Duke of Sussex on his milestone birthday. The sweet messages gave royal fans hope of a family reconciliation.

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.