Prince William talks about Prince Harry for first time amid estrangement

Danielle Stacey
·3-min read
William and Harry walking through Sunken Garden
Prince William namechecked Prince Harry for the first time amid their rift (Getty)

The Prince of Wales has namechecked his brother, Prince Harry, in what is widely believed to be the first public mention since their estrangement.

Prince William speaks of a touching memory with his younger sibling from their childhood in a new two-part documentaryPrince William: We Can End Homelessness, which focuses on his ambitious initiative Homewards.

Recalling his first visit to The Passage homelessness charity with his late mother, Princess Diana, more than 30 years ago, the future King said: "My mother took me to The Passage. She took Harry and I both there.

"I must have been about 11, I think probably at the time, maybe ten. I'd never been to anything like that before, and I was a bit anxious as to what to expect."

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He continued: "My mother went about her usual part of making everyone feel relaxed and having a laugh and joking with everyone.

"I remember at the time kind of thinking, 'Well, if everyone's not got a home, they're all going to be really sad'. But it was incredible how happy an environment it was.

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"I remember having some good conversations just playing chess and chatting. That's when it dawned on me that there are other people out there who don't have the same life as you do.

"When you're quite small, you don't really, you just think life is what you see in front of you and you don't really have the concept to look elsewhere and it's when you meet people, I did then, who put a different perspective in your head and say like, well, 'I was a living on the street last night', and you're like 'Woah', you know."

William playing chess at The Passage in June 1993
William playing chess at The Passage in June 1993 (The Passage)

Harry and William's relationship has been strained in recent years, with the Duke of Sussex first addressing rumours of tensions with his brother on Tom Bradby's 2019 documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey. 

When asked by the reporter at the time whether there was any truth to the reports, Harry said: "inevitably stuff happens" but that there was little truth to the speculation, saying: "The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing but as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days."

Diana, William and Harry giggling after riding the log flume at Thorpe Park
Diana, Harry and William in 1993 (Getty)

Harry added of William: "We are certainly on different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him as I know he will always be there for me. We don't see each other as much as we used to because we are so busy, but I love him dearly."

Since stepping back as a senior royal with wife Meghan in 2020, Harry has openly spoken about the breakdown of his relationship with his family members, namely his father the King and brother William.

Harry was pictured sitting three rows away from William and Kate at the coronation
Harry was pictured sitting three rows away from William and Kate at the coronation (Getty)

William has never publicly responded to any of the claims Harry made in his explosive memoir, Spare, released in January 2023, including an alleged physical fight between the brothers.

The pair were last seen publicly together at the King and Queen's coronation in May 2023, although they were reunited privately at their maternal uncle Lord Robert Fellowes' funeral in Norfolk in August. However, the brothers reportedly did not sit next to one another during the service.

Prince William: We Can End Homelessness airs 30th and 31st at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, STV and STV Player

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