Prince William and Prince Harry’s feud is still going strong, so there’s been a long drought of photos of the royal brothers sharing a laugh at royal engagements — most likely because Harry said something cheeky. But there is something that unfailingly brings the estranged siblings back together: tragedy.
The most recent sad occasion that forced them to be in the same vicinity as one another was a memorial for their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes. Harry made the trip across the pond to attend a service at St. Mary’s Church in Snettisham, Norfolk. Lord Robert’s widow is Lady Jane Fellowes, Princess Diana’s sister. Previous events that the brothers both attended include the funerals of their grandparents, Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth II. While the princes and their wives did a walkabout to honor the late queen during that tragic reunion, Harry revealed that there was no thawing of the royal rift. “Willy and I, barely exchanging a word, took our familiar places, set off on our familiar journey, behind yet another coffin draped in the Royal Standard,” he writes in “Spare.”
Witnesses told The Sun that there was no display of brotherly love between William and Harry at Lord Robert’s memorial, either. “We never saw them speak to each other and they kept their distance,” said one local. Ahead of the event, one of Harry’s ex-friends suggested that the royal might skip it. “Harry’s attendance would just create too much drama,” the source told the Daily Beast. However, his presence was likely appreciated by Lady Jane.
Lady Jane Fellowes and Prince Harry have a close relationship
Lord Robert Fellowes also worked as Queen Elizabeth II’s private secretary and was all too familiar with familial tension. In 1997, the UK’s Channel 4 News (via CNN) reported that he and King Charles III had a nasty row over Princess Diana’s emotional funeral. An insider claimed that Charles told Lord Roberts to “impale himself on his own flagstaff.”
Lord Roberts’ memorial service was held just two days before the anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. One of the rare occasions that Prince Harry and Prince William grudgingly reunited for was the 2021 unveiling of a statue of their mother, which took place on what would have been her 60th birthday. Lady Jane Fellowes was photographed smiling and chatting with Harry at the event. She also attended the 2019 christening of his son Archie, and she performed a reading at Meghan Markle and Harry’s royal wedding in 2018. More recently, she and other members of the Spencer family joined Harry to help him celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games in May 2024.
The vicar who presided over Lord Robert’s service, Reverend Dan Tansey, told The Sun that he didn’t see Harry and William exchange pleasantries. However, he added, “It would have meant a lot to Lord Robert to have them both at the service because I know both he and his auntie love them both very much.”
