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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed this week they would not be spending Christmas at Sandringham with the Queen. Some royal commentators perceived this a sign of further division
between Harry and his brother, especially in the wake of his revealing ITV documentary, ‘Harry and Meghan: An African Journey’, where he claimed he and his brother have “good days” and “bad
days”. The two brothers were believed to be very close growing up, especially after the tragic loss of their mother Princess Diana in 1997 – William was only 15 at the time while Harry was
12. In Angela Levin’s 2019 book, ‘Harry: Conversations with the Prince’, the biographer explained the emotional way Harry had described their relationship during the interview for his 21st
birthday. He said: “Every year we get closer and we’ve even resorted to hugging each other now after not seeing each other for long periods of time. “He is the one person on this earth that
I can actually talk to about anything and we understand each other.” Ms Levin commented: “The physical warmth they originally learnt from their mother had not only become part of their
brotherly relationship but was also steering them to a much more emotionally led approach to life. “Although they may not have realised it at the time, their feelings for each other marked
the beginning of the end of a stiff-upper-lip approach to life.” During his birthday interview, Harry also revealed how competitive he and his brother are, especially when they were
embarking on their military careers. He claimed one of the things he “was really looking forward to at the end of the course”, according to Ms Levin, was William having to salute him.
William was behind Harry in his military training, as he attended University of St Andrew’s after his gap year rather than going straight into training like Harry and would therefore have to
salute his younger brother when he started his officer training. READ MORE: CHARLES AND CAMILLA'S ADORABLE REACTION TO KATE AND WILL'S ENGAGEMENT The Duke of Cambridge explained:
“We have been brought closer together because of the circumstances…we are uniquely bonded because of what we’ve been through. But even Harry and I over the years have not talked enough about
our mother.” Kate Middleton – William’s wife – also commented: “I do think it’s incredible how strong [you both are] and how you’ve been able to cope really, and I put that down to your
really early years and your childhood experience. But also the relationship that you’ve got… you’re amazingly close.” William joked “most of the time” and they all laughed. However, the two
of them seemed to have more of a strained relationship in recent months. Now 35, Harry and his wife Meghan Markle moved out of Kensington Palace estate earlier this year – moving away from
William and his family – and split their royal households as well when they moved into Frogmore Cottage in Windsor. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex then decided they wanted to set up their
own charitable foundation, away from the one Harry had set up with his brother in 2007, called The Royal Foundation. They announced over the summer that they would be setting up The Sussex
Royal in the upcoming months, fuelling yet more rumours of a fallout between the couples and upsetting fans – especially as they had previously been dubbed the ‘Fab Four’.