In the wake of Spare and Prince Harry's detailing of his life in the shadow of his brother, the royal family has been reckoning with public percection of what appears to be a dusty old monarchy that's unwilling to keep up with the times. Through it all, however, including things like Harry insisting that his brother phyiscally attacked him during an argument about Meghan Markle and later reports that Harry was bored with William's fascination with cosplaying as a country bloke, King Charles and Prince William are reportedly closer than ever. Trauma bonding: even royals get in on the fun.
"It’s been quite the ordeal for them," royal expert Christopher Andersen said in an interview with Us Weekly. "They’ve come out of that with a stronger bond. They’ve been insulted by members of their own family. It’s been quite the ordeal for them, and I think that they kind of circled the wagon, so to speak."
Andersen added that William and Kate have been “naturals” at soaking up the spotlight and living a royal lifestyle “from the very beginning.” Harry, on the other hand, was never keen on the whole pomp and circumstance, which may have been part of his reasoning for leaving it all behind and escaping to California with Meghan. Andersen also notes that he sees shades of William in his oldest son, Prince George, who is “surprisingly comfortable" with royal life.
And while pops and big bro get chummy, Harry is forging ahead with his life in Montecito. Anderson notes that while things may look great from our perspective, Harry may be struggling as more and more of his family seem to keep their distance.
“Trying to carve out this new life for them in Hollywood, I suppose they expected the honeymoon to go on,” Andersen said of the Sussexes. “And as time passed, more and more of their allies and friends and admirers have just fallen away because they see this as kind of a narcissistic romp through Montecito. They’re not getting the kind of support now that they had when they arrived.”