What to Know
Once upon a time, Kate Middleton and Prince Harry were as thick as thieves, but the royal fairytale has changed quite a bit between this sister and brother-in-law. If his marriage to Meghan Markle was the first crack in the foundation of their relationship, moving to the U.S. was their major downfall. Kate has always been rumored to be the glue holding the royals together, but even she reportedly decided to give up on Harry after he said something that changed the way she saw him forever.
Harry made a comment after King Charles was diagnosed with cancer that didn’t sit right with Kate.
According to what royal expert Christopher Andersen told Fox News Digital, at first, Kate “would not give up” trying to reunite Harry with Prince William.
“Even after Harry threw William under the bus in his memoir Spare, she was willing to keep trying. And the final break came,” he said.
That final break was in May 2025, when Harry told the BBC that he wanted to make things right with his family because he did “not know how much longer my father has”.
“The final straw came really shortly after the king was diagnosed with cancer, when Harry said, ‘I’d like to mend fences because we just don’t know how long [my father] has to live.’ Well, that kind of statement can be very hurtful to somebody who doesn’t really want to consider their own mortality and is battling cancer,” Christopher said.
Since Kate had her own battle with cancer in recent years, it sounds like that comment really stung.
Harry’s words caused trouble for the royals in other ways, too.
It wasn’t just that Harry’s words hit a nerve for Kate personally, but the ripple effect of what he said just ended up causing more of a headache for the royals in general.
“And, of course, it just ignited this firestorm of speculation about how sick the king really was at this point. And Kate pretty much felt that would be it. She wasn’t going to try anymore. So she has not,” Christopher added. “And as a result, there has been no chance of any … As a matter of fact, I don’t think we’re ever going to see them make amends. At least it’s not on the horizon now.”
Before this happened, Kate was willing to do just about anything to get Harry and William talking again.
Harry seems to have lost a real ally in Kate, who was once the “one person in the royal family who wouldn’t give up” on him.
“What interests me most was the relationship between Kate and the two brothers and the fact that she acted as a kind of go-between,” he told Fox News. “William, Harry and Kate had a very close relationship. [Harry] referred to Kate as the sister he never had. They made each other laugh. It was a very warm and loving relationship for a long time.”
There’s no going back now, though — especially as this feud between Harry and the royals just keeps dragging on longer and longer. It’s kind of wild they haven’t been on good terms for six years now, but if Kate’s no longer willing to play ref, all hope might be lost for the future.
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