Yahoo Finance How ‘peacekeeper’ Kate helped bring William and Harry together again
William and Harry were seen putting on a united front at their grandfather’s funeral thanks to a little help from the Duchess of Cambridge.
The brothers joined 28 other guests for the Duke of Edinburgh’s downsized funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday.
During the procession, the brothers walked in solemn silence on either side of their cousin Peter Phillips.
Watch: Why Prince Harry, William and Kate Chose to leave Philip's funeral together
At one point, Mr Philips fell back slightly allowing the brothers to walk next to each other but neither spoke at this point.
Once inside the chapel Harry was seated by himself, in line with Covid-19 restrictions, while the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge sat together.
The Duchess of Sussex remained in the United States, having been advised not to fly while pregnant with the couple’s second child.
Harry had been staying at Frogmore Cottage with Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank and the brothers are unlikely to have seen each other before the service.
After the emotional ceremony Kate, who William refers to as the royal family’s “peacekeeper” started chatting animatedly to Harry.
Then, instead of getting into their separate cars, Harry, William and Kate decided to walk back to the castle together.
Though still wearing his face mask, Harry appeared to smile briefly in the direction of Kate, his sister-in-law, as the three strolled together, away from the rest of the family.
Moments later the brothers walked on ahead together, as Kate hung back to talk to Zara Tindall.
A royal source told the Sun: “Harry appeared grateful for the opportunity, and Kate seemed to make a point of letting the brothers walk alone together, having briefly chatted to Harry as well.”
It was the first time the brothers had been seen in public together since Harry stood down from royal duties.
The potential reconciliation comes after Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey last month when they claimed Meghan received no support from the monarchy during her mental health struggles.
The couple also claimed an unnamed royal, not the Queen nor the Duke of Edinburgh, raised concerns about how dark their son Archie’s skin tone would be before he was born.
William later denied the racism claims, saying “we are very much not a racist family”.
In the days after Philip’s death, senior figures such as former prime minister Sir John Major and Cardinal Vincent Nichols, the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, said they hoped the brothers’ shared grief would be an opportunity to ease tensions and reconcile.
“The friction that we are told has arisen is a friction better ended as speedily as possible, and a shared emotion, a shared grief, at the present time because of the death of their father, their grandfather, I think is an ideal opportunity,” said Sir John.
Watch: The wonderful life of Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh
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