The royal exit of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is predictably causing heartache within Prince Harry’s immediate family.
Earlier this month, Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle announced their intentions to relinquish their royal duties and work to become financially independent. The decision has left brother Prince William and wife Kate Middleton, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, “reeling.”
“According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, William and Kate are only just coming to terms with the new makeup of the royal family,” Fox News reported Friday.
Prince William and Kate “are still reeling from the news, coming to terms with the reality of this situation,” the royal expert said.
“The past week must have been incredibly hard. With William busy performing royal duties, he’s not got his brother by his side right now and his father, Prince Charles, has returned to Scotland,” Nicholl added.
As a consequence of Harry and Meghan’s decision to split off from the royal institution, Prince William and Kate have been left with intensified media scrutiny and more responsibility.
The warm public reception of the the couple has helped with the change, Nicholl previously told OK! “The warm reception William and Kate received has given them a huge boost,” the expert said. “They’ve stuck to the tried-and-tested approach, promoting a united royal family and it’s a success.”
Two weeks ago, according to a report from The Sunday Times (U.K.), Prince William was left devastated by the news of his brother’s departure.
“As the Queen called emergency peace talks tomorrow at Sandringham to end the Windsors’ civil war, The Sunday Times can reveal that Prince William has said he feels sorrow that he and Prince Harry are now ‘separate entities’ and expressed hope that they might pull together again in future,” the outlet reported.
“I’ve put my arm around my brother all our lives and I can’t do that any more; we’re separate entities,” Prince William told a friend.
“I’m sad about that. All we can do, and all I can do, is try and support them and hope that the time comes when we’re all singing from the same page. I want everyone to play on the team,” Prince William reportedly said.
“After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution,” Harry and Meghan said in the bombshell joint statement announcing their plans to abandon their royal duties.
“We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the royal family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support her majesty the queen,” the couple added.
On Sunday, Harry, for the first time publicly, addressed his split, telling a room full of supporters of the Sentebale charity in London that he and his wife Meghan Markle had “no other option” than to break away. According to the 35-year-old, he tried to “support” Queen Elizabeth II, his grandmother, without receiving public funds, but that situation was undoable.