Photo: Eddie Mulholland - WPA Pool/Getty
Prince WilliamandPrince Harryhave been through quite a lot together.
As the children ofKing Charlesand the latePrincess Diana, the royal brothers were often referred to as the “heir and spare” — and the adage has stuck with the siblings as they’ve each navigated their lives in the royal spotlight.
The first son of Charles and Diana, Prince William, was born in June 1982. The former couple’s second son, Prince Harry, arrived two years later in September 1984. Though the brothers were close as children, a rift among the royal family developed in recent years, most prominently when Prince Harry and his wife,Meghan Markle, announced their decision to step back from royal duties and move to California in 2020.
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On Jan. 4, 2023,The Guardianreported thatPrince Harrywrote that Williamphysically attackedhim in his memoir,Spare. The incident allegedly took place in 2019 at Harry’s London home, after William called Markle “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”
The following day, apreview of Prince Harry’s interviewwithGood Morning Americahost Michael Strahan aired. In the clip, Strahan revealed that Harry referred to his brother as both his “beloved brother” and his “archnemesis” in the book.
Even in the midst of a troubled time in the princes' relationship, their respect for their father appears to remain steadfast. WithWilliam honoring Charles at his crowning ceremonyand Harry traveling to London to attend the historic event,even after exiting royal life. However, the two brothersdid not appear to interactat the May 6 coronation.
Ahead of William and Harry’s father’s coronation,National Geographic producedCharles: In His Own Words, a special with never-before-seen archival footage. Director Tom Jennings told PEOPLE that King Charles' love for his sons was a clear theme in the documentary.
“I was surprised. We found that great footage of him in ‘93, ‘94, with his sons at a loch in Scotland, running around in a kilt and roughhousing with his boys. And then we found several interviews from him that weave throughout there, and it paints an endearing portrait of him as a father. Listening to what he said hoped for his sons as they were growing up, I found those words to be very sincere,” he said.
In February 2024, King Charles wasdiagnosed with cancer. Before publicly stating the news, the Kingshared the diagnosis with his close family members, including both of his sons. A source close to Prince William told PEOPLE that Charles is in close contact with his elder son and Harry had plans to travel to the U.K. shortly after the news was announced.
From their childhood to becoming fathers themselves, here’s everything to know about King Charles’ two children.
Prince William, 41
Prince William.Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty
King Charles and Princess Diana welcomed their first son — and future monarch —Prince Williamon June 21, 1982, at London’s St. Mary’s Hospital. At the time of his son’s birth, Charles told the waiting press, “He has the good fortune not to look like me.”
A year later, Charles and Diana broke royal protocol when theytook their son on a tour of Australiaand New Zealand — an unusual move for royals, who typically left their young children at home when embarking on similar trips.Prince Williamsubsequentlymade his carriage debutat the Trooping the Colour celebration in 1987 when he was only 4 years old; this was the same age at whichhis mother confessedthat the toddler was sometimes referred to as “William the Terrible” at home.
The public enjoyed their first true introduction to the young prince in 1991 when Williammade his official royal engagement debutin Cardiff, Wales, alongside his parents. The future king would become a fixture in the public from there, sharing numerous intimate moments of his life with the media and photographers. Hisfirst day at Eton Collegewas documented in the press amid the separation of his parents.
Prince William grew closer to his grandmotherQueen Elizabethwhile enrolled at the school, as the two shared weekly lunches during this time. Lacey told PEOPLE the lunches began out of theQueen’s enormous concern for William’s wellbeing. The author explained, “The prince takes his style from his royal grandmother, who intervened as the marriage of William’s parents dissolved in 1995. The 13-year-old was in a fragile place — alone and just starting boarding at the elite Eton College across the river from Windsor. Concerned for her grandson’s emotional state, the Queen invited William up to join her when Eton boys went home for the weekend.”
Prince WilliamandPrince Harrylost their mother in a fatal car accident in August 1997. Diana’s death had a profound impact on both of her sons, andWilliam later admittedthat finding out about his mother’s passing was the saddest moment in his life. As he recounted while on a royal tour of Scotland in 2022, “In short, Scotland is the source of some of my happiest memories. But also, my saddest. I was in Balmoral when I was told that my mother had died. Still in shock, I found sanctuary in the service at Crathie Kirk that very morning. And in the dark days of grief that followed, I found comfort and solace in the Scottish outdoors. As a result, the connection I feel to Scotland will forever run deep.”
Chris Jackson/Getty
In 2001, William enrolled at the University of St. Andrews, where he was soon introduced to fellow studentKate Middleton. While the two would go on to marry and have children, Kateadmitted in the pair’s engagement interviewthat it took time for them to break the ice at first. As she put it, “I think you said I actually went bright red when I met you and sort of scuttled off. [I was] feeling very shy about meeting you.” Prince William agreed and explained that the two were friends for quite some time before taking their relationship to the next level. He said, “We were friends for over a year first. It just sort of blossomed from then on.”
While building his relationship with Kate, Prince William continued to gain more royal duties. Hecelebrated Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubileein 2002 beforemoving in with Katein 2003. The pair’s early days of living together found William attempting to learn to cook to impress his girlfriend. “When I was trying to impress Kate, I was trying to cook these amazing fancy dinners, and all that would happen was, I would burn something, something would overspill, something would catch on fire, and she’d be sitting in the background just trying to help and [then] taking control of the whole situation,” he recalled in 2010.
In early 2006, he enrolled at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.Prince Williamattended the school ahead of his time in the British military, and Kate joined his family to celebrate William’s graduation at the end of the year. This marked a big step forward for the couple, as it was the first time Kate had attended an event withQueen Elizabeth.
The pairwedon April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey and werenamed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. While the wedding was a happy occasion for most, William’s brother, Harry, later wrote about the difficulties ofwatching the pair get married. “The brother I’d escorted into Westminster Abbey that morning was gone — forever,” Harry shared in an excerpt of his memoirSpare, before naming activities he knew the two would never do together again.
William and Kate soon welcomed three children: Prince George was born in July 2013, Princess Charlottejoined the familytwo years later in May 2015, and their third child,Prince Louis,arrivedin April 2018.
AfterQueen Elizabeth died in September 2022, William and Kate became thePrince and Princess of Walesas well as theDuke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge.
In light of his most recent titles, William shared in late 2022 that he began the process of learning Welsh, the language of Wales. Reverend Steven Bunting, who hosted the Prince and Princess of Wales in late September, explained, “He talked about learning Welsh and shared some Welsh phrases he’s trying to do.”
With his father now King, William has"fully immersed" himselfinto the role of Prince of Wales, according to a source. The insider added of William and Charles, “Talking about the future of the country and their future roles has strengthened their bond.”
Prince Harry, 39
Prince Harry.John Lamparski/Getty
Prince Harry,King Charles and Princess Diana’s second son, was born on Sept. 15, 1984, at St. Mary’s Hospital in London.
The loss of his mother in August 1997 had a massive impact onPrince Harry, who was 12 years old at the time. He later opened up about the last conversation he had with Diana and admitted that he hadn’t seen his mother in nearly a month when the fatal car crash occurred. While speaking in a 2017 documentary about his mother,Harry explained, “There was the point where our parents split and … we never saw our mother enough or we never saw our father enough. There was a lot of traveling and lot of fights on the back seat with my brother — which I would win.”
The years that followed were somewhat difficult for a youngPrince Harry. He began attending Eton College in 1998, where he gained a reputation for partying. As royal historian Lacey wrote in his bookBattle of the Brothers: The Inside Story of a Family in Tumult, Harry was known for being typecast as a"bad boy"while he attended the school from 1998 to 2003. Harry later admitted to taking his education at Eton for granted. He said, “We do take it for granted, and it is a privilege. But every single person, every single child, every single young person needs an education.”
Eventually,Prince Harryemerged from the Eton period of his life with a new focus. He served a 10-week tour of duty in Afghanistan after deploying to the country on Christmas Eve in 2007. The British army had hoped to keep Harry’s time in the country a secret, but the royal family was forced to confirm rumors that he was fighting against the Taliban after the story leaked. Harry’s spokesperson explained, “Prince Harryis very proud to serve his country on operations alongside his fellow soldiers and to do the job he has been trained for.”
King Charles and Prince Harry.Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage
In 2016,Prince Harrywas introduced to his now-wifeMeghan Markleon ablind date— and the two got engaged the following year. As Meghan later shared in their engagement interview with theBBC, “[We were] trying to roast a chicken and it just — just an amazing surprise, it was so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got on one knee.” Harry added, “She didn’t even let me finish, she said, ‘Can I say yes, can I say yes?’ and there were hugs. I had the ring in my finger and I was like, ‘Can I — can I give you the ring?’ She goes — ‘Oh yes, the ring.’ "
Prince Harryand Meghan married on May 19, 2018, and became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They welcome their first son,Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, in May 2019 ahead of their first anniversary. Thefamily of three embarkedon their first royal tour together to South Africa months later in September 2019, andHarry took timeduring the trip to retrace his mother’s famous walk through a landmine field and to name a hospital in her honor.
Harry said in the documentary that the loss of his mother was very present for him at the time.As he put it, “Look, part of this job and part of any job, like everybody, means putting on a brave face and turning a cheek to a lot of the stuff. But again, for me and for my wife, of course, there’s a lot of stuff that hurts — especially when the majority of it is untrue. All we need to do is focus on being real, focus on being the people we are and standing up for what we believe in. I will not be bullied into carrying a game that killed my mum.”
Despite that statement, it came as a huge surprise whenPrince Harry and Meghan announcedtheir intention to step back from senior royal duties in January 2020. Theymoved to Californiaand announceda lucrative partnership with Netflixlater that year.
The period was fraught with familial tension between Prince Harry and the royal family. He and Meghansat down for a tell-all interviewwithOprah Winfreyin early 2021 that proved to further damage the relationships Harry had with his father and brother; in May of the same year,Harry appearedalongside Winfrey in the documentaryThe Me You Can’t See, in which he discussed his mental health journey in detail.
Prince Harry was in Europe when news broke that Queen Elizabeth had died; he and his wife were able to join his family in the hours that followed the monarch’s passing, though their childrendid not attend the funeral. Harryreleased a statementabout his grandmother’s passing and noted, “In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen — and in mourning her loss — we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty. She was globally admired and respected. Her unwavering grace and dignity remained true throughout her life and now her everlasting legacy. Let us echo the words she spoke after the passing of her husband,Prince Philip, words which can bring comfort to all of us now: ‘Life, of course, consists of final partings as well as first meetings.”
On Feb. 9, 2023, a source close to the royal household told PEOPLE thatKing Charles wants Harry back in the familyand hopes his youngest will attend his coronation.
“It is such a momentous occasion for Charles, and he would want his son to be at the coronation to witness it. He would like to have Harry back in the family,” the insider said. “If they don’t sort it out, it will always be part of the King’s reign and how he has left his family disjointed. He has had a reputation as a distant parent, and it would be awful for him for that to continue.”
In April 2023, Buckingham Palace confirmed thatHarry will attend the coronation, while Meghan will “remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.” The day of the coronation, May 6, 2023, is also Archie’s fourth birthday.
Later that month,The Sunreportedthat Harry will be in and out of Great Britain in just 24 hours. “He will only be doing the coronation service, then leaving,” a source told the outlet.
Afterwatching his father get crowned kingat his May 6, 2023, coronation ceremony, Harry did not join some of his other family members onthe balcony of Buckingham Palaceand insteadreturned to Californiato celebrate his son’s birthday with Meghan.
source: people.com
