As Prince Harry grab headlines, Prince William fights ‘subtle battle’ to protect his children from a common enemy

Prince William and Prince Harry don’t have much in common these days, but it seems they do have a common enemy. The only thing is that the estranged siblings have different strategies to fight back against this enemy.

The Duke of Sussex’s hatred for the U.K. media is hardly a secret at this point. Last month, Harry finally came out triumphant in his legal case against Rupert Murdoch’s Newsgroup when he got to walk away with a hefty settlement (even if the lawsuit didn’t go to court, as he had hoped). Harry even blames the media’s negative portrayal of wife Meghan Markle for the reason he fears she’s at risk of a “knife or acid” attack if she ever set foot in the country again.

On the other hand, Prince William’s own feelings about the media are less well-documented. As the heir to the throne, the Prince of Wales can’t — or, at least, has been taught not to — grouse about his personal grievances like his little brother does. Nevertheless, evidence indicates William has his own problems with the press, and he’s secretly waging his own, much subtler, war, against the media in his own way.

Royal expert alleges how Prince William manipulates the media into staying on side

While Harry has gone all guns blazing against the media, Royal correspondent Robert Palmer alleges that William is actually just as keen to keep the press out of his face, he just has a different way of handling it.

“His brother’s war on the British media has hogged the headlines but behind the scenes Prince William is waging a more subtle battle to protect his family from media intrusion,” Palmer claims (via Cambridgeshire Live).

Instead of Harry’s very un-royal approach of slapping the media with lawsuits and openly criticizing the media in interviews, William is said to be using his handy industry ties and his heft as monarch-to-be in order to keep the press on side and massage away any stories he doesn’t want to get out there.

According to Palmer, the prince’s staff at Kensington Palace, his official residence, “have built strong relationships with editors and specialist reporters, and often use softer negotiating skills, understandings or, if necessary, legal warnings to try to keep intrusive stories out of the mainstream media.” Of course, it probably doesn’t hurt that the media won’t want to make an enemy out of their future king.

While they might be on different sides of the Atlantic, and different sides of their family feud, you might say William and Harry are actually on the same side in this battle against the press. When it comes down to it, both brothers want the exact same thing: to protect their kids from the kind of ugly and intense scrutiny that they endured as children (particularly around the time of Princess Diana’s death). Maybe one of these days the pair will realize they have more in common than they think.