Prince Harry is providing new clarity on his strained relationship with Prince William.
During Oprah Winfrey's highly anticipated sit-down with Meghan Markle and Harry for CBS' Oprah With Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special on Sunday, March 7, he opened up about where things stand for the brothers.
When Oprah said that much has been said about the siblings, Harry replied, "Yeah, and much will continue to be said about that. You know, as I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother."
Harry continued, "We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But, you know, we're on different paths."
Oprah later asked Harry what the relationship with William is currently like at the moment.
"The relationship is space, at the moment," he shared. "And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully."
For years, Harry and William and wives Meghan and Kate Middleton have been the subject of rift rumors. The best-selling book Finding Freedom, released in August and written by royals experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, described an alleged conversation between the brothers that suggests the tension increased as Meghan became a part of Harry's life.
"Don't feel like you need to rush this," William told Harry, per sources cited in the book. "Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl." Finding Freedom claimed Harry did not appreciate William referring to Meghan as "this girl."
As a source in the book shared, "This sums them up as people—William, the calm and rational one, and Harry, who can't help but take things far too personally."
During the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which aired in October 2019, interviewer Tom Bradby asked Harry about the press reports of conflict between him and William.
"Inevitably, stuff happens," Harry replied cagily. "The majority of the stuff is created out of nothing, but as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days."
Three months later, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step back from royal duties as they split their time between the United Kingdom and North America. The couple officially exited their roles as senior members of the royal family in March 2020.
While it has been popular to point fingers at Meghan's arrival for driving a final wedge between the brothers, reports of differences between the two siblings had been discussed for years.
In Penny Junor's 2014 biography Prince Harry: Brother, Soldier, Son, a friend of Harry's shared that the rugby enthusiast "could decide to kiss goodbye to the whole thing." The friend expressed that the brothers potentially "could work side by side," but didn't appear to see it as likely.
Sir David Manning, former British ambassador to the United States who got to know the brothers well, was quoted in the book as saying that William has a "very clear destiny," while Harry seemed likely to explore other paths. William is currently second in line to the throne, while Harry is now sixth.
David shared that "although [they're] very close and in many ways passionate about the same things, like the military and wildlife and so on, Harry's got a field of maneuver that's much broader."
Now that Harry is living in Santa Barbara with his family, and William remains at Kensington Palace, their destinies appear to be just one way in which the siblings haven't been on the same page.