Although much discussion in royal circles has surrounded the alleged fall-out between Harry and William, the two heavily relied on one another during their time serving for the Armed Forces. Their relationship has come even further under the microscope after the Duke of Sussex, alongside his wife Meghan Markle, opted to take a step back from senior Royal Family life earlier this year. Yet, in a move away from the rift claims, both Harry and William issued a joint statement surrounding plans to immortalise their mother with a new statue inside Kensington Palace.
The statement, which comes ahead of Monday – the 23rd anniversary of Diana’s death – said: “The Princes hope that the statue will help all those who visit Kensington Palace to reflect on their mother’s life and her legacy.”
However, after Harry made the “tough decision” to stand down from 10 years service with the British Army, the Duke of Sussex relied on his sibling to help him through the difficult transformation back into a civilian.
‘Finding Freedom’, the new biography written by royal reporters Carolyn Durrand and Omid Scobie surrounding Harry and Meghan, reports that he would confide in his brother Prince William, who himself was once a member of the Armed Forces.
Yet, beneath the public image Harry purveyed, the now-35-year-old was struggling.
The book says: “Anger and anxiety started to bubble to the surface, and neither emotion fit into the official persona of a prince.
“At royal engagements he suffered panic attacks. In the most proper and officious of settings, such as a reception by MapAction to mark Harry’s new patronage of the humanitarian emergency response charity, the flight-or-fight instincts of an Apache helicopter pilot kicked in.
“A source remembers that when Harry left the event held at the Royal Society in London, ‘He just started taking in deep breaths.
“‘The people, the cameras, the attention,’ the source said. ‘He had just let it get to him. He was on the edge.'”
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The alleged row between the once close brothers stems, Ms Durrand and Mr Scobie say, after William referred to Meghan as “this girl”, before Harry decided to marry the former US actress.
Harry was unhappy at the “tone of snobbishness” that was “anathema to his approach to the world”, and royal insiders say this sparked the downfall of the two brothers’ burgeoning connection.
Diana, Princess of Wales, passed away in a Paris car crash in 1997.
Normally, the brothers would spend the day together, but for the first time, the brothers are set to spend the occasion on different sides of the world.
