Prince William and Prince Harry have been estranged for years, with no signs of a reconciliation in sight , but there was one time when they agreed to a ceasefire for a deeply touching reason .
The relationship between the two brothers is at an all-time low following the release of Harry's bombshell memoir, Spare . During his recent visits to the UK, Harry has not met with his older brother and it looks unlikely they will come together any time soon.
Nevertheless, William did offer a peace gesture to Harry in 2022 - and it happened after the death of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II .
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In a last-minute decision, William texted his brother and invited him and Meghan Markle to join him and Princess Kate on the Long Walk in Windsor to view floral tributes and meet with the public, who had gathered to pay their respects.
It marked the first (and only) public reunion of the two couples since the Sussexes stepped back from their toles as senior members of the Royal Family and moved to America. A source told the Daily Mail at the time: "It happened very quickly remarkable really considering they didn't see each other in Scotland."
The publication also claimed it was William's decision to extend this olive branch to his younger brother, and said it was "absolutely not the case" that this was done under the direction of their father, King Charles.
The Prince of Wales believed that a show of unity was crucial during the national mourning period out of respect for their grandmother. The walkabout was initially scheduled for 4.30pm but was reportedly delayed by 45 minutes as William and Harry discussed their plans.
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Both brothers had flown to Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire to say their final goodbyes to their grandmother, but sadly, both missed her as she died at 3:10pm. William then joined King Charles at his nearby Birkhall residence, while Harry stayed at Balmoral.
The Duke of Sussex was very close to his grandmother, but he was not told about her health decline in the hours before her death, royal author Omid Scobie claimed. Writing in his book Endgame, he said Harry "couldn’t get in touch with" his family as he raced to Scotland.
Omid added that Harry texted multiple members of the family more than once, but in Prince William's case, "he clearly didn’t want to see his brother." He continued: "With Her Majesty’s death already confirmed to the prime minister an hour before Harry left, and all other senior family members now gathered in Scotland processing the news, royal press secretaries were ready to share the news with the world. The Palace claimed Charles tried to call Harry (sources later told me there was never any proof of this), and that there was no more time left to delay.
"As stormy weather over Aberdeen International forced Harry’s plane to circle the airport numerous times before landing, patience at the Buckingham Palace press office wore thin — they could wait no longer and the announcement went live at 6:30 p.m. When Harry’s plane finally touched tarmac twenty minutes later, he received a text from Meghan urging him to call ASAP followed by a breaking news alert via the BBC News app with the announcement of the Queen’s death."
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