Growing up as a rich Royal might seem like it would be the best childhood ever and, well, it still doesn’t sound half bad, but the pressures of the monarchy and the constant glare of the media can cast a shadow over a young Royal’s life — just ask Prince Harry.
Harry’s issues with the press, stemming from his mother Princess Diana’s death when he was a boy, are arguably at the root of his infamous decision to exit the Royal way of life and move to the U.S. with his wife, Meghan Markle, in 2020. And his memoir, Spare, makes clear from its title alone that the very fact he was the second son of a king spoiled his relationship with his older brother, Prince William.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like the king’s sons will be making up anytime soon, at least not if Meghan has anything to do with it. That is, if you believe the harsh anti-Meghan sentiment shared by Royal commentator Dee Dee Dunleavy. When asked if a reconciliation could be on the cards, Dunleavy told Sky News Australia:
“(Harry) is not going to apologise, at least not while he is still with Meghan,” she said. “I really do believe he does her bidding and she is never going to allow him to apologize to the family.”
This isn’t the first time Royalists have attempted to depict Meghan as a scheming control freak — see: claims she apparently soured Harry’s friendship with the Beckhams or that she’s supposedly using Harry’s Royal ties to boost her own business. Alternatively, we’ve heard Meghan “desperately” wants to lend her support to Kate Middleton during her illness, so exactly where she stands on the Harry/William divide is difficult to fathom.
Prince William and Kate Middleton reportedly leaving London to spare children from the “Spare” curse
Where Kate Middleton stands on the brotherly split is perhaps easier to work out, though: her main concern is that her children don’t fall prey to a similar bitter falling-out one day.
Back in March, Prince William and Princess Catherine were announced to be moving their family out of Kensington Palace, and London as a whole, to give their three children — Prince George (10), Princess Charlotte (9), and Prince Louis (6) — a more bucolic upbringing. The elder two have left their London prep school and the Waleses will relocate to Anwer, an estate located near Windsor Castle, this summer.
As for the deeper reasons behind the change, however, it’s claimed that the prince and princess are looking to keep their children out of the limelight a little in the hopes that they can escape “the Spare mentality” that has afflicted William’s relationship with Harry all their lives. Sources have told The Daily Mail and The Daily Beast (via Marca) that the couple want their children to “pursue a future away from Buckingham Palace” in order to find “genuine meaning.”
Presumably this doesn’t mean they’re encouraging future king George to copy his uncle and flee to the States, but rather that the Waleses want their kids to develop their own wants and interests that they can explore alongside their eventual Royal duties. With any luck, George and Charlotte have, and will continue to have, a much steadier sibling dynamic than William and Harry.
