Royal reconciliation: Prince William and Prince Harry seen chatting at Prince Philip’s funeral
Brothers walked separately in the Duke’s funeral procession
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex were seen speaking to one another after the funeral of theirgrandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh — a possible sign of reconciliation after their bitter fallout.
The ceremony for Prince Philip took place on Saturday afternoon at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, after the Duke died on 9 April at the age of 99.
It was the first time that the brothers had seen each other in over a year and comes after Harry and Meghan’s explosive Oprah interview last month.
William and Harry walked separately in the Duke’s funeral procession, either side of their cousin Peter Phillips – Princess Anne’s son – behind their grandfather’s coffin en route to the chapel.
They sat apart inside the chapel, opposite one another. The 30 guests in attendance at the ceremony sat separately within their respective household bubbles.
Following the funeral, as the family filed out of the chapel, the brothers walked together, along with the Duchess of Cambridge, and were seen chatting as they did so.
The decision for Harry and William to walk separately in the procession prompted speculation that they could not be reconciled.
During Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, he explained that the brothers were having “space at the moment”, but added, “time heals all things, hopefully”.
He added: “As I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together. We have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.”
They were said to have spoken on the phone last month in the wake of the interview.
However, according to CBS News presenter Gayle King, their conversation was “unproductive”.
The image of the brothers walking in the procession brought to mind that of 15-year-old William and 12-year-old Harry walking behind the coffin of their mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales, at her royal ceremonial funeral on 6 September 1997.
Prince Philip’s funeral adhered to strict Covid guidelines, with only 30 guests in attendance, all of whom are wearing masks and complying with social distancing.
The Duchess of Sussex did not attend the funeral. She had been “hopeful” to attend, but was not cleared for travel by her doctor, due to the stage she is at in her pregnancy. Instead, Meghan watched remotely from her Los Angeles home.
She did, however, pay tribute to the Duke by leaving a handwritten note for him on a wreath that Harry laid at St George’s Chapel behalf of himself and his wife at the chapel.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments