The relationship between the two brothers is said to have neared breaking point when William cautioned his younger brother about marrying too quickly. Just a few years later Harry and Meghan Markle left the Firm.
Despite months of little communication, the two brothers exchanged Christmas gifts with each other and agreed a truce.
And now, royal expert and author of Battle of Brothers, Robert Lacey, has suggested their conflict emerged as “love versus duty”.
Mr Lacey claimed the lesson William took from the breakdown of his parent’s marriage was “he had this duty, this responsibility to be King” and had to live up to that.
But the royal expert – who is a historical consultant to Netflix’s The Crown – suggested Harry took the route of love over duty.
Mr Lacey told Elle Magazine: “There, on the one hand, you have duty, and on the other hand you have Harry emerging from the same emotional chaos.
“He takes a different lesson: His parents were locked into an arranged, loveless marriage, and he’s not going to make that mistake.
“He’s going to go for love, and that’s what he’s done with Meghan, unapologetically.
“The first thing he says is he fell in love the moment he saw her.”
READ MORE: William ‘proved right’ over Meghan Markle remarks, claims expert
Last year, Meghan and Harry shocked the world when they announced they would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family.
They moved to California where they have been living with their son, Archie, during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a bid to be financially independent, the couple have signed a multimillion deal with Netflix, worth to be around $100million (£73million).
They have also signed a deal with Spotify which sees them recording exclusive podcasts.
The couple’s deal with the Royal Family following their departure from their senior roles – dubbed Megxit – is understood to up for review later this year after a year transition period.
Palace sources have rubbished the couple’s chances of getting back into the Firm in the wake of the deals.
Although other sources have suggested Meghan and Harry have no plans to return.
One insider told the Daily Mail the deals with Netflix and Spotify, among others, were a “nail in the coffin” for a potential return to the Royal Family for Meghan and Harry.
They said: “It’s solely down to the choices they have made.
“There is no anger or animosity but every commercial deal that has been done by the Sussexes has been a nail in the coffin of any kind of return to royal life.”
There are currently no known plans to strip the Sussexes of their titles, regardless of whether they carry on as working royals or not.
