NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n\n\n- Prince William and Prince Harry continue to honor their late mother, Princess Diana, through much of their public work and philanthropy<\/li>\n
- Their painful feud remains \u201cprofound and long-lasting,\u201d historian Robert Lacey tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story<\/li>\n
- Diana\u2019s biographer Andrew Morton calls the rift \u201ca great loss for the monarchy”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
On July 16, as the 28th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of his mother\u00a0Princess Diana<\/a>\u2019s death loomed,\u00a0Prince Harry<\/a>\u00a0took a\u00a0poignant walk through a minefield<\/a>\u00a0in Angola, retracing the brave steps Diana took nearly three decades ago to shine a light on the hidden horrors of war. Just weeks earlier, on what would have been their mother\u2019s 64th birthday, July 1,\u00a0Prince William<\/a>\u00a0honored her legacy<\/a>\u00a0in Sheffield, England, celebrating the second anniversary of\u00a0Homewards<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 his mission to end homelessness, an issue Diana championed and introduced her sons to.<\/p>\nBut what was once a shared mission to honor their mother now unfolds on separate paths, with no communication between them.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cWe all remember the days when Harry and William were joshing with one another, and it all seemed set for their relationship and the future \u2014 that Harry, as Diana always used to say, would be William\u2019s wingman,\u201d Diana\u2019s biographer Andrew Morton tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. \u201cIt\u2019s a great loss for the monarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The brothers grew up sharing a royal life and experience only they can understand, weathering their parents\u2019 scandalous divorce and enduring the unbearable pain of losing Diana after a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, when her sons were 15 and 12. But now they’re worlds apart.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThat separation extends to the next generation. In Windsor, William, 43, and\u00a0Kate Middleton<\/a>, 43, are raising\u00a0Prince George<\/a>, 12,\u00a0Princess Charlotte<\/a>, 10, and\u00a0Prince Louis<\/a>, 7. Across the Atlantic in Montecito, Calif., Harry, 40, and\u00a0Meghan Markle<\/a>, 44, are raising\u00a0Prince Archie<\/a>, 6, and\u00a0Princess Lilibet<\/a>, 4. The cousins have not been seen in public together since 2019, before Lilibet was born.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTheir feud exploded into public view in 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal duties.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n“Things were said that sparked the initial rift, and it’s never healed,” Morton says.<\/p>\n
In his memoir\u00a0Spare<\/em>, Harry describes a tense 2019 confrontation where William criticized Meghan and, according to Harry, physically grabbed him by the collar, knocking him to the floor. The divide only deepened after the couple\u2019s explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, followed by their Netflix docuseries and Harry\u2019s bestselling book \u2014 each delivering sharp criticism of William, King Charles, 76, Kate, 43, Queen Camilla, 78, and the institution they serve. \u201cSome members of my family will never forgive me,\u201d Harry admitted in May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nWhile Harry has spoken openly about his hope for reconciliation with his family, insiders say his calls and messages to William have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nSays Robert Lacey, author of\u00a0Battle of Brothers<\/em>: \u201cThe rift is very profound and very long-lasting. It will not be changed, in my opinion, until Harry makes a move and apologizes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nAdds historian Amanda Foreman: “Everyone wants it to happen on their terms, but that’s what makes it impossible.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nDespite the gulf between them, the royal brothers\u00a0remain united in one shared vow: to honor their\u00a0mother\u2019s memory.\u00a0\u00a0Their inspiration comes from Diana, who redefined royal life \u2014 not with pomp, but with genuine compassion. She didn\u2019t just infuse their lives with normalcy through visits to amusement parks and burger joints; she also took them to shelters for the unhoused. One was London\u2019s\u00a0The Passage<\/a>, whose CEO Mick Clarke says William\u2019s \u201cvisits with his mom left a deep and lasting impression.\u201d<\/p>\nCan’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?\u00a0Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe prince, he adds, has spoken about how Diana \u201cmade it very pointed that he was exposed to life beyond palace walls. That is something that he and the princess are doing with their own children.\u201d That grounding in service has shaped William\u2019s public life. During the COVID pandemic he made unannounced trips to shelters, helping prepare meals and even delivering food \u2014 always without cameras.<\/p>\n
Harry, meanwhile, found his calling in supporting young people affected by the AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, Southern Africa, where he was deeply moved by the challenges facing vulnerable youth. In 2006 he cofounded Sentebale \u2014 meaning \u201cforget-me-not,\u201d Diana\u2019s favorite flower, in the local language \u2014with his friend Prince Seeiso as a tribute to their late mothers.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nOver the next 19 years, the two poured \u201cblood, sweat and tears and their own money into building this charity up to what it was \u2014 a multimillion-pound charity that delivered nothing but good for the beneficiary\u00a0community,” a friend tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAfter a deep dispute over management at Sentebale, devastatingly for Harry, and Seeiso, they have\u00a0parted ways from the charity<\/a>, and are seeking new ways to help the disadvantaged of Lesotho and Botswana.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
- \n
- Prince William and Prince Harry continue to honor their late mother, Princess Diana, through much of their public work and philanthropy<\/li>\n
- Their painful feud remains \u201cprofound and long-lasting,\u201d historian Robert Lacey tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story<\/li>\n
- Diana\u2019s biographer Andrew Morton calls the rift \u201ca great loss for the monarchy”<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
On July 16, as the 28th<\/sup>\u00a0anniversary of his mother\u00a0Princess Diana<\/a>\u2019s death loomed,\u00a0Prince Harry<\/a>\u00a0took a\u00a0poignant walk through a minefield<\/a>\u00a0in Angola, retracing the brave steps Diana took nearly three decades ago to shine a light on the hidden horrors of war. Just weeks earlier, on what would have been their mother\u2019s 64th birthday, July 1,\u00a0Prince William<\/a>\u00a0honored her legacy<\/a>\u00a0in Sheffield, England, celebrating the second anniversary of\u00a0Homewards<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 his mission to end homelessness, an issue Diana championed and introduced her sons to.<\/p>\n
But what was once a shared mission to honor their mother now unfolds on separate paths, with no communication between them.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n\u201cWe all remember the days when Harry and William were joshing with one another, and it all seemed set for their relationship and the future \u2014 that Harry, as Diana always used to say, would be William\u2019s wingman,\u201d Diana\u2019s biographer Andrew Morton tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. \u201cIt\u2019s a great loss for the monarchy.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nThe brothers grew up sharing a royal life and experience only they can understand, weathering their parents\u2019 scandalous divorce and enduring the unbearable pain of losing Diana after a car crash in Paris on Aug. 31, 1997, when her sons were 15 and 12. But now they’re worlds apart.<\/p>\n
\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThat separation extends to the next generation. In Windsor, William, 43, and\u00a0Kate Middleton<\/a>, 43, are raising\u00a0Prince George<\/a>, 12,\u00a0Princess Charlotte<\/a>, 10, and\u00a0Prince Louis<\/a>, 7. Across the Atlantic in Montecito, Calif., Harry, 40, and\u00a0Meghan Markle<\/a>, 44, are raising\u00a0Prince Archie<\/a>, 6, and\u00a0Princess Lilibet<\/a>, 4. The cousins have not been seen in public together since 2019, before Lilibet was born.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nTheir feud exploded into public view in 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal duties.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n“Things were said that sparked the initial rift, and it’s never healed,” Morton says.<\/p>\n
In his memoir\u00a0Spare<\/em>, Harry describes a tense 2019 confrontation where William criticized Meghan and, according to Harry, physically grabbed him by the collar, knocking him to the floor. The divide only deepened after the couple\u2019s explosive 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, followed by their Netflix docuseries and Harry\u2019s bestselling book \u2014 each delivering sharp criticism of William, King Charles, 76, Kate, 43, Queen Camilla, 78, and the institution they serve. \u201cSome members of my family will never forgive me,\u201d Harry admitted in May.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nWhile Harry has spoken openly about his hope for reconciliation with his family, insiders say his calls and messages to William have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nSays Robert Lacey, author of\u00a0Battle of Brothers<\/em>: \u201cThe rift is very profound and very long-lasting. It will not be changed, in my opinion, until Harry makes a move and apologizes.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAdds historian Amanda Foreman: “Everyone wants it to happen on their terms, but that’s what makes it impossible.”<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nDespite the gulf between them, the royal brothers\u00a0remain united in one shared vow: to honor their\u00a0mother\u2019s memory.\u00a0\u00a0Their inspiration comes from Diana, who redefined royal life \u2014 not with pomp, but with genuine compassion. She didn\u2019t just infuse their lives with normalcy through visits to amusement parks and burger joints; she also took them to shelters for the unhoused. One was London\u2019s\u00a0The Passage<\/a>, whose CEO Mick Clarke says William\u2019s \u201cvisits with his mom left a deep and lasting impression.\u201d<\/p>\n
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?\u00a0Sign up for our free Royals newsletter<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!<\/strong><\/p>\n
<\/div>\nThe prince, he adds, has spoken about how Diana \u201cmade it very pointed that he was exposed to life beyond palace walls. That is something that he and the princess are doing with their own children.\u201d That grounding in service has shaped William\u2019s public life. During the COVID pandemic he made unannounced trips to shelters, helping prepare meals and even delivering food \u2014 always without cameras.<\/p>\n
Harry, meanwhile, found his calling in supporting young people affected by the AIDS epidemic in Lesotho, Southern Africa, where he was deeply moved by the challenges facing vulnerable youth. In 2006 he cofounded Sentebale \u2014 meaning \u201cforget-me-not,\u201d Diana\u2019s favorite flower, in the local language \u2014with his friend Prince Seeiso as a tribute to their late mothers.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nOver the next 19 years, the two poured \u201cblood, sweat and tears and their own money into building this charity up to what it was \u2014 a multimillion-pound charity that delivered nothing but good for the beneficiary\u00a0community,” a friend tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\nAfter a deep dispute over management at Sentebale, devastatingly for Harry, and Seeiso, they have\u00a0parted ways from the charity<\/a>, and are seeking new ways to help the disadvantaged of Lesotho and Botswana.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n