Prince William, the heir to the British throne, has made no public comment on his brother's decision to return home, according to The New York Times. He has said nothing on social media and issued no statement through a royal spokesman, the newspaper reported, and his silence has taken on added weight given that William will one day inherit the monarchy.
According to The New York Times, William has spent years trying to present himself as a different kind of monarch to his father and grandmother, more attuned to the modern world. He has used public campaigns to encourage men in particular to confront mental health struggles and to move away from the reserved, stiff-upper-lip model of masculinity, urging openness to therapy instead. Earlier this year, the newspaper reported, he indicated that he holds a quiet personal faith and hopes to build a meaningful relationship with the Church of England once he becomes king.
A rift that has not closed
Despite this, the estrangement between Harry and the brother he once called Willy remains wide, The New York Times reported, with little sign that anything has been resolved since the tensions that preceded Harry and his wife Meghan's departure from Britain. Some of that conflict was detailed by Harry in his memoir, Spare, including an account of a physical altercation between the brothers in 2019 that Harry said took place at the cottage he shared with Meghan. Kensington Palace has never commented on the claim, though the newspaper noted that royal watchers believe William denies any physical confrontation occurred.
The New York Times reported that the two brothers have appeared in the same place only twice since Queen Elizabeth's funeral four years ago, at King Charles' coronation in May 2023 and at a memorial service for their uncle in August 2024, and that on neither occasion did they appear to interact.
Royal historian Ed Owens told the newspaper that reconciliation would require William to make the first move, saying, "Forgiveness is at the heart of Christian morality." Catherine Mayer, author of Divide and Rule: Royal Women and Their Battles, told The New York Times that the brothers' shared childhood trauma, including the death of their mother, Diana, in 1997, has left them bound together in complicated ways, though she was uncertain whether that would be enough to bring them back together, saying only that "this is not that ideal world."
A warmer path with their father
The newspaper contrasted William's silence with the more visible thaw between Harry and King Charles. According to The New York Times, Harry had tea with his father in 2025, and last month Charles and Queen Camilla met privately with Harry, Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, at Highgrove House. A person close to the king told the newspaper that Charles "welcomes the opportunity to see more of the Sussex family," while Kensington Palace, which represents William and Catherine, said only that it does not comment on matters relating to Harry and Meghan.
Return dominates British headlines
The New York Times reported that Harry and Meghan's move back to Britain, first revealed last week, was covered exclusively by both The Sun and The Daily Telegraph, with the couple said to want to raise their children away from the pace of life in the United States. The Sun's Wednesday front page read simply, "HARRY & MEG COMING HOME." According to the newspaper, the family arrived in Britain by private plane on Wednesday, though a spokesman would not confirm this, and neither Charles nor William issued any public statement of welcome.
The New York Times noted that attention will now turn to whether William eventually breaks his silence, and whether Harry and his family might be included in events such as the royal Christmas gathering or public appearances tied to Harry's Invictus Games foundation. Some royal watchers cited by the newspaper expect Harry and Meghan to keep a low profile initially rather than risk further conflict. Mayer told the newspaper that a reconciliation would ultimately benefit William, given that Harry and Meghan remain popular with younger generations who are otherwise wary of a more traditional monarchy.
Source: The New York Times
