Prince William & Harry Put Bitter Feud Aside To Unveil Statue Of Princess Diana

Jun 10, 2022 by apost team

Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's abrupt departure as senior working members of the Royal Family in March 2020, Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 was the first time that Harry and his family have reunited. The brothers reunited once again for Princess Diana's statue unveiling on July 1, 2021, and at the time, many royal fans anticipated that the brothers would put their 'royal rift' behind them. 

The already tense relationship between Harry, Prince William and the rest of the family ignited further after Harry and Markle sat down with Oprah Winfrey for a controversial interview in March. During the television special, the couple openly criticized the royal family and its culture. 

While the royal family released a comment following the interview, there have been continued reports of a rift between Harry and the rest, especially his brother Prince William. The fraught relationship between the brothers had reportedly thawed a little after the funeral service for their grandfather, the late Prince Philip, when they were seen chatting together. News outlets also report that Kate Middleton may have helped to calm the rift.

With Princess Diana's statue unveiling, many fans were curious if the brotherly tension would cause issues, or fall to the side during the event. While it was reported that other events had been helping the brothers heal their relationship, many royal experts expected nothing but professionalism from the brothers at the unveiling. However, observers were still looking for clues about how much tension there was between the brothers. Based on the photographs of the event, the brothers had put aside their differences for their mother on that day. 

Nearly 25 years after Princess Diana's funeral, Prince William and Harry came together to pay tribute to their mother in a final completion of a project that started back in 2017.

As reported by the BBC, a statement released by Prince William and Prince Harry back in 2017 said:

"It has been 20 years since our mother's death and the time is right to recognise her positive impact in the UK and around the world with a permanent statue."

It continued:

"Our mother touched so many lives. We hope the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on her life and her legacy."

Fans from around the world took to social media to pay tribute to Diana on her 60th birthday and the new statue on July 1, 2021. Of course, the most important tribute came from the late princess’ children — William and Harry.

"Today, on what would have been our mother's 60th birthday, we remember her love, strength and character — qualities that made her a force for good around the world, changing countless lives for the better,” William and Harry said in their joint statement that accompanied the unveiling of their late mother’s statue. 

While the tribute form the brothers showed immense love and hope, it was not a good time for them during the statue unveiling. 

There had been tensions between Harry and Meghan Markle and the rest of the royal family due to their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, followed by their role in the Apple+ Docuseries "The Me You Can't See." 

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The official unveiling of the statue was Harry's first time seeing his family since Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021. An official "Sussex source" revealed to Harper's Bazaar that Meghan Markle did not join her husband for the event because she was completely focused on caring for the couple's infant daughter, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor at their Montecito home instead. She had been born just a month prior in June 2021. 

The Mirror had initially reported that Kate would be helping her husband William and his brother Harry put on a united front for the occasion. However, updated reports showed that Kate was removed from the guestlist for the unveiling instead. The Sun reported that this meant Harry and William met without a "peacemaker" around them.  

Metro UK also reported that Harry did not have plans to meet his brother or his father when he arrived in the UK for the unveiling. Due to the coronavirus pandemic at the time, Harry was expected to be in quarantine for five days, and Charles had left for his trip to Scotland after Harry has finished his time in quarantine. 

At the time, Harry and William had reportedly only been communicating by text amid their bitter fallout. The historic win at the UEFA Cup 2021 by England against Germany might have inadvertently helped the brothers overcome their difficulties. The first win against Germany in a knock-out world cup game in 55 years had sparked the pair texting each other about soccer, according to The Daily Mail. 

However, it was all sunshine and roses yet for the brothers. A source told the Sun, "There have not been any personal chats or proper talks, just a very brief and minimal exchange of text messages."

The source added, "The relationship is still very much strained and there's no sign yet that there will be any sort of coming together any time soon. The boys will walk out together out of respect for their mum." 

Vanity Fair reported that a source said the brothers have agreed to call a temporary truce for the day, adding, "What you will see is a carefully choreographed show of unity for that day, at least."

However, other members of the royal family reportedly tried to heal the inflamed rift between the brothers in their own way. Queen Elizabeth had extended an "olive branch" to Harry and Meghan and has invited them to her Platinum Jubilee.

In 2022, the Sussexes showed their support by attending the historic event, and celebrating their daughter Lilibet's first birthday in the UK. 

Photos captured by BBC reporters showed both brothers uniting in front of the statue in seeming harmony. The official statue of Diana, Princess of Wales is located at the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, a spot that is said to have been her favorite on the grounds. The Sunken Garden took on even more meaning later on in Nov. 2017 when Prince Harry announced his engagement to Meghan Markle there. 

The British sculptor behind the statue of Diana is Ian Rank-Broadley, who is acclaimed for his work, including designs that he's produced for British coinage. His work features in prestigious permanent collections of the British Museum and the National Portrait Gallery in London, as well as St Paul's Cathedral, which is where Diana and Prince Charles were married in July 1981.

Vanity Fair berichtete, dass eine Quelle sagte, dass die Brüder zugestimmt haben, einen vorübergehenden Waffenstillstand für den Tag zu nennen, und fügte hinzu: "Was Sie sehen werden, ist eine sorgfältig choreografierte Show der Einheit für diesen Tag, zumindest."

Allerdings könnten andere Mitglieder der königlichen Familie versuchen, den entflammten Riss zwischen den Brüdern auf ihre eigene Weise zu heilen. Queen Elizabeth hat Harry und Meghan bereits einen "Olivenzweig" gereicht und sie zu ihrem Platin-Jubiläum eingeladen. 

Fotos, die von BBC-Reportern eingefangen wurden, zeigten beide Brüder vereint vor der noch verhüllten Statue in scheinbarer Harmonie. Die offizielle Statue vonDiana, Princess of Wales, befindet sich im Sunken Garden des Kensington Palace, einem Ort, der ihr Lieblingsplatz auf dem Gelände gewesen sein soll. Der Sunken Garden bekam später im November 2017 noch mehr Bedeutung, als Prince Harry dort seine Verlobung mit Meghan Markle bekannt gab. 

Do you think Diana's statue unveiling helped to calm the rift between the two brothers a little? Let us know your thoughts, and be sure to pass this on to other royal fans you know.