'It looked like a genuine moment of unity rather than something contrived for the cameras,' observer says of brief moment Harry and William were seen walking together after grandfather's funeral.
Feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William were divided by Henry VIII’s tomb as they sat across from each other during the dignified, religious and socially distanced funeral for their grandfather Prince Philip Saturday.
But the brothers, along with William’s wife Kate Middleton, walked away from St. George’s Chapel together, and appeared to chat amicably and in a relaxed way.
Prince Harry walked up behind his brother William and sister in law Kate after #PrincePhilipfuneral before they were seen speaking to each other. Today is the first time Harry has seen his family in a year since leaving his royal role and that Oprah Winfrey interview pic.twitter.com/09bSWdljhY
— Russell Myers (@rjmyers) April 17, 2021
This brief public moment of friendliness raised hopes among royal observers that the brothers might use this time together, while Harry is in the U.K, to begin to mend the bad blood between them that reportedly boiled over when Harry and his wife Meghan Markle made all sorts of explosive allegations about racism and cruelty in the royal family during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last month.
“It’s hard to know what that means but we hope that bodes well,” said MSNBC royal commentator Keir Simmons.
Philip’s funeral at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, was the first time that the brothers had been together in the same place since more than a year ago, when Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties and moved to California.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, arrived in the U.K. last Sunday and has been in self-isolation due to British COVID-19 safety protocols. Reports say that William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, stayed at their country home during the week and that William and Harry wouldn’t have had a chance to see each other until the funeral.
Before the funeral, Harry and William walked behind Philip’s casket, as part of an eight-minute procession with other family members from Windsor Castle to St. George’s Chapel. Much was made of the fact that their older cousin, Peter Phillips, walked between them, with commentators wondering if the queen had ordered that arrangement to keep as much attention as possible off the brothers’ feud.
During the 50-minute service, the queen sat alone at the front of St. George’s Chapel, in keeping with COVID protocols. She was seen to briefly wipe away a tear as she said good-bye to her husband of 73 years, her “strength and stay,” as she has said.
The other 29 mourners sat alone or in small, household groups in the chapel, arranged in order of seniority. Harry was on the same side of the chapel as the queen, with William and Kate facing him from across the aisle. The Times reported they were looking at each over the tomb of Henry VIII, “a monarch who experienced his share of family tensions.”
Meghan did not accompany Harry to the U.K. to attend the service because she is in her last months of pregnancy with their second child. She was expected to watch the proceedings from more than 5,000 miles away in California after doctors advised her not to fly.
At the end of the service, the Daily Mail reported that the royal family decided to have some of the mourners walk back to Windsor Castle, instead of take cars that had been made ready for them. Perhaps, this was part of a plan to allow cameras to capture the William and Harry walking together and talking, the Daily Mail suggested.
Tom Bradby, Harry’s friend who was presenting ITV’s coverage of the funeral, said: “Funerals are a time of reconciliation and that a sight, let’s be honest, that’s many wanted to see. Not least the family itself.”
Judy James, a body language expert interviewed by the Daily Mail, said that there was a “moment of connection” between the brothers as they left the chapel.
“In a well-co-ordinated but also relatively natural-looking moment, Harry walked up behind William and Kate to then join them, walking between them and chatting to them both,” James said. “After a few seconds of what looked like natural and not self-conscious conversation, Kate fell back, leaving the two brothers walking off talking alone. It looked like a genuine moment of unity rather than something contrived for the cameras.”
Some commentators have suggested that Kate would play peacemaker between the brothers; Harry has said before that he once regarded Kate to be the older sister he never had.
It’s unknown whether both brothers would be guests at a wake following the service, allowing Harry to have some words with William, or with his father Prince Charles, from whom he also has become estranged.
During the Winfrey interview, Harry and Meghan alleged that someone in the family said racist things about Meghan and their son Archie. The couple also said the family was cruelly indifferent to Meghan’s mental health struggles, claimed Kate made Meghan cry before her wedding, suggested that Charles and William were “trapped” in their roles as heirs to the throne and blasted Charles for cutting them off financially and for not returning Harry’s phone calls.
According to British COVID-19 rules, only 15 people at most are allowed to gather for a wake, and it’s not known which royal family members would be part of such an event. Previous reports were not optimistic that Harry and William would have much time during Harry’s stay in the U.K. to have a meaningful conversation.
The Daily Beast said that chances of the brothers meeting up after the funeral were “minimal,” given COVID safety protocols that say that people can only socialize indoors with people in their social bubble, the Daily Beast reported. Up to six people, or two households, can meet outside, but these circumstances don’t sound conducive to “a meaningful family reconciliation,” the Daily Beast added.
Harry also was expected to fly back to the U.K. after Philip’s service, wanting to get back to his pregnant wife, and not feeling the need to spend any great length of time in the U.K., Page Six reported.
