Prince Harry and Prince William were brothers united in grief as they walked behind Princess Diana’s coffin 25 years ago, almost to the day. Their heads were bowed, jaws tense, and they stared straight ahead as the world’s media filmed it all.
Yesterday, Prince William and Prince Harry came together again on a strikingly similar day as they followed behind Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin while billions around the world watched, grief etched on their faces on the dark day.
However, unlike 25 years ago, the pair are much older, wiser, and yet a world apart. Where they were once two peas in a pod, supportive of one another as they embarked on a life without their mother, they allegedly couldn’t be more distant now.
Despite trying their hardest to display unity in front of over 4 billion television viewers, their tense body language spoke volumes to onlookers.
The pair followed behind the Queen’s coffin in a procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, where her funeral service took place in front of over 2,000 of the world’s royals, politicians, and dignitaries.
They were later seen sitting in the Abbey on opposite ends of the church with the Prince and Princess of Wales on one end and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the other, tellingly in the second row.
It’s been a brutal mourning period so far, and the world was shocked to see the brothers step outside the gates of Windsor Castle to participate in a joint walkabout as they met mourners who had gathered to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
Even more shocking was the fact that their wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, had joined them.
There doesn’t appear to be a truce, but a ceasefire between Princes William and Harry
Earlier this week, the two princes followed the Queen’s coffin in a procession from Buckingham Palace to Windsor Hall, all the while walking just feet apart but never giving away what their feelings really were.
The world speculated that it might be a truce in the face of extreme grief; however, it appeared as a semi-truce in respect to their beloved matriarch.
Princes William and Harry have been involved in a brutal family rift
Prince William and Prince Harry were once genuine friends, as Harry used to make William giggle on various engagements, bringing him out of his shell. And, when Kate Middleton joined them, Harry treated her like his own sister.
Unfortunately, that dynamic has changed, and rather quickly, considering how close the famous brothers are. After Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, stepped on the scene, a definite shift occurred in the relationship, and things really came to a head around the time of the Sussexes wedding.
Cue “Megxit,” an Oprah Winfrey interview, a book deal, Netflix deal, and Spotify podcasts, all while slinging truth bombs across the Atlantic at the royal family, and things have become fierier than ever in the House of Windsor and in the Montecito mansion that the Sussexes call home.
The world might have expected a bigger show of unity on the brother’s part. However, watching them walk behind the Queen’s casket, it appeared to many as a brief ceasefire rather than a white flag.