Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there was a brief period of time when it looked as though the beloved monarch’s offspring might honor her memory by setting aside their differences and repairing the family bonds that she valued so highly.
But one year later, the rift between the warring factions of the Windsor clan looks to be deeper than ever.
Insiders say that as far as Prince William and Kate Middleton are concerned, Harry’s controversial memoir was the final straw.
It seems that prior to the book’s release, the Waleses were hopeful that they would eventually be able to mend fences with Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, but they now feel that too much damage has been done.
Kate and Harry enjoyed a close relationship for years, and it seems the Princess of Wales was the last to give up on her brother-in-law.
But according to royal expert Jennie Bond, Kate has now cut ties with Harry, and along with William, she’s come to terms with the fact that the Windsor clan will never be reunited.
In a recent interview with OK! magazine, Bond claimed that the Princess of Wales finds it “incredibly hard to understand how people can become estranged” as she comes from a “united family.”
Bond added that Kate was “hurt and insulted” by Harry and Meghan’s comments after they stepped down as senior royals, but she remained hopeful that the Sussexes would eventually come back around.
“I think she believed the rift could be fixed and, after Prince Philip’s funeral, we saw her talking with Harry and obviously encouraging William to do the same,” Bond explained (via The Mirror).
“But we now know that it didn’t work.”
Bond said the feud has been an eye-opening experience for Kate, who learned the hard way that happy families “are not a game that everyone can play.”
It was with great difficulty, Bond says, that Kate accepted the fact that her relationship with the Sussexes “cannot be fixed in the foreseeable future.”
She added that after years of quietly hoping for a resolution, Kate and William have now “closed their minds” to the idea and come to terms with the fact that their relationship with Harry and Meghan is over.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl echoed Bond’s comments, explaining to UK tabloid The Sun that Kate and William had very low expectations ahead of Harry’s memoir, but they found the book to be even more insulting than they’d anticipated.
“When you think of the personal revelations, and I think you can call them snide remarks made about Kate in Spare, Harry broke the one rule and that is staying silent on family matters,” Nicholl said this week.
“Kate and Harry used to be very, very close. There’s been a complete breakdown of that relationship,” she continued.
“I don’t think Kate does angry. I think it is more a case of feeling very disappointed.”
Harry returned to London earlier this month to attend the annual WellChild Awards, but he did not meet up with William, Kate, or anyone from his family.
He was not joined by Meghan, who has now declined to accompany her husband on his last three trips to the UK.
Royal experts might continue to offer conflicting accounts of what exactly went wrong and who is more to blame, but whatever the case, it seems that the Sussexes and the Waleses genuinely want nothing to do with each other these days.
Kate Middleton & Prince William Will Never Forgive Meghan Markle & Prince … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.