In his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey last month, Prince Harry hoped that time would "heal all things" when it came to his strained relationship with his brother, Prince William. As the two came face to face at Prince Philip's funeral, had enough time gone by to heal?
That was the question posed Saturday with all eyes on Harry, 36, and William, 38, as the royal siblings reunited to mourn their grandfather, who died April 9, two months before his 100th birthday. This marks the brothers' first time seeing each other in person in more than a year following Harry and wife Meghan Markle's step back from royal duties in early 2020, and subsequent move to the United States.
William and Harry didn’t line up shoulder to shoulder Saturday as they followed Prince Philip’s coffin to St. George's Chapel for his funeral. Their cousin, Peter Phillips, stood between the princes as they prepared to escort the coffin to the chapel at Windsor Castle.
The arrangement minimized the chances of any awkward moments between the brothers, who have faced strains in their relationship since Harry's departure.
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The funeral was closed to the public because of government COVID-19 guidelines and was only open to 30 members of the royal family, including 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, her and Philip's children and grandchildren, and a few cousins, nieces and nephews.
As their grandfather's coffin was carried into the chapel, the procession that followed were broken up into rows of two. Prince Charles and Princess Anne immediately followed the decorated casket carried by eight uniformed pallbearers. Prince Andrew and Prince Edward fell in behind on the next row and Prince William followed on the row behind them with Prince Harry directly behind him.
Inside the sanctuary, Harry sat away from William, who was seated next to his wife, Duchess Kate. Harry's wife, Duchess Meghan, did not attend after being advised by her doctor against making the long journey from California while pregnant with her and Harry's second child, a girl.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex paid their respects to Prince Philip in many ways. During the funeral, Prince Harry wore civilian clothes but honored his grandfather, with whom he shares a military bond, by wearing military accolades like his KCVO Neck Order and Star and many medals on his chest. He and his wife also left a wreath to honor Philip's life which included a handwritten note from Duchess Meghan.
Like most spectators, Meghan honored Prince Philip from home, watching the funeral broadcast.
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After the services, the royal positions were more informal. The brothers walked next to each other and spoke to members of the clergy. As the family filed out of the church, William and Harry were shoulder to shoulder in conversation.
St. George’s Chapel at the castle, where the funeral took place, has been the site of centuries of royal burials – and royal weddings, including the 2018 union of Harry and Meghan.
Less than two years later, Harry and Meghan announced January 8, 2020, that they would be stepping back from their senior royal duties and planned to split their time between North America and the United Kingdom. The couple was last in the U.K. last March for a "farewell tour" of sorts before making their big move to Canada, a Commonwealth nation, for a few months until they settled down in Los Angeles.
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Harry conceded in the March 7 interview with Winfrey that, following that step back, his relationship with his brother is "spaced at the moment." He added at another point: "I love him to bits, we've been through hell together, we had a shared experience, but we’re on different paths."
The prince also divulged a strain in his relationship with his father, 72-year-old Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne. Though Harry said he maintains a close relationship with the queen, he admitted the Prince of Wales stopped taking his calls, "because by that point I took matters into my own hands," referring to the couple stepping down from their royal duties.
Here's why:Prince Philip laid to rest in Royal Vault but it's not his final destination
He said he had "two conversations with my father" before the two eventually stopped talking and admitted to feeling "let down."
"Because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like and Archie is his grandson," Harry said. "At the same time, I will always love him. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship."
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Over the course of the two-hour interview, Harry and Meghan shared a number of bombshells with Winfrey. Meghan opened up about feeling so close to suicide during her time in the palace that she couldn't be left alone, and revealed that someone at the palace expressed concerns about how dark their future baby's skin might be (it was neither the queen nor Prince Philip, Harry later said).
Meghan also set the record straight about a rumor that Meghan made soon-to-be sister-in-law Duchess Kate cry before her and Harry's 2018 wedding. Not only was it not true, Meghan said, but the opposite had happened.
"She made me cry. It hurt my feelings," she said, confirming that the subject was flower-girl dresses. "But it was a really hard week before the wedding. She was upset and apologized and brought flowers and wrote a note. I've forgiven her. What's hard to get over is that I was being blamed for something I didn't do but happened to me."
Meghan said didn't want to reveal too many details of the incident because Kate "is a good person" and she wanted to protect her privacy, but noted everyone in the palace knew it wasn't true.
"Why not say that?" Winfrey asked. "Good question," Meghan replied.
Contributing: Maria Puente and Elise Brisco, USA TODAY, and The Associated Press
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