William and Harry, two boys and a great loneliness

The story of William and Harry, their current distance and confrontation cannot be understood without knowing the details of their childhood. A childhood of loneliness and sadness. It is the story of two children who lived their orphanage in the palatial universe of British royalty.

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When mom and dad don’t love each other…

Before his mother’s death, William and Harry had to come to terms with living in a loveless (and soon to be broken) home. They were young, but it was impossible for them not to see the melancholy face that Diana wore in many images taken with Prince Charles, her husband.

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Two princes and a mother

William was born on June 21, 1982 and Harry, two years later, on September 15, 1984. In a failed marriage, the arrival of these two little ones is a joy that lifts Lady Di’s spirits.

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Their mother’s smile

The photographs of Lady Di with her two children are happy images, of fullness. All the drama that was finally revealed regarding Princess Diana’s life with her husband (“in our marriage, there were three of us, a multitude therefore”) was diluted in the moments of complicity between the mother and her children.

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A distant father

In fact, there are plenty of images of Lady Di with William and Harry during their childhood days, but there aren’t many photos in which Prince Charles shares out-of-protocol moments with his sons.

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The girl they didn’t have

In any case, no chronicle denies the love of Prince Charles for his sons. It is true that, according to Andrew Morton in his biography of Lady Di, Charles would have preferred to have a daughter when Harry was born. According to the same biography, when Charles saw Harry at birth, he exclaimed, “Oh my God, he’s a boy, and he’s redheaded!” He did it as a joke, but the irony saddened Diana.

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Their love ended when Harry was born.

In the aforementioned biography of Andrew Morton, it is also assured that between Charles and Diana there was a moment of true love (or something similar) between the birth of William and Harry, a few months in which they seemed form a truly happy marriage. But following Harry was born, the final estrangement would have begun.

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Two very close brothers

Either way, the truth is that the small age difference between William and Harry and the palace atmosphere not conducive to visits from school friends meant that the two brothers were extremely close.

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The worst time of their lives

And then came the absolute tragedy. It was August 31, 1997. Diana of Wales died in a car accident while being chased by the paparazzi. His car crashed into one of the columns of the underground passage under the Pont de l’Alma in Paris. Mourning invades Great Britain and flowers and candles pile up at the palace gates.

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Harry and William’s last conversation with their mother

William and Harry were 15 and 12 respectively (pictured at Diana’s funeral) In a documentary broadcast on the British channel ITV, they recounted the last time they spoke on the phone with their mother. They were at Balmoral, on vacation, and Diana had called from Paris. Harry says: “I don’t remember what I said, but I will always remember how sorry I was that call was so short.” William adds: “We wanted to keep playing. If we had known…”

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Farewell to happy days

This summer has definitively put an end to the happy days of the past, to those other holidays during which, for example, one went to Majorca to visit the kings of Spain.

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The family album is torn

The separation of Charles and Diana in 1992 (although the official divorce did not come until 1996) had already been a blow for William and Harry. But now they found themselves orphans, in a new situation of distress. Charles of England, their father, was focused on his royal duties and his great love with Camilla Parker Bowles.

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A complicated adolescence

Their mother’s absence brought them closer together, but as teenagers the distance between the two brothers’ personalities began to be noticeable. William has always tended to play by the rules; Harry, very quickly, to break them. Already at the age of 16, the young prince was caught up in excesses of all kinds. More scandals will follow until, finally, Harry matures and abandons this path.

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They are united by their devotion to Lady Di

Various sources assure that over time, the only thing that has remained of the strong bond that united the brothers when they were children is their absolute devotion to their deceased mother. There, both are firm. They defend Lady Di’s legacy once morest all odds.

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The difficulty of becoming an adult

Adulthood ushered in a stage for Harry and William in which they experienced the bliss of finding love and facing parenthood. But also the pain that comes with choosing the path each of them thinks is best for them. Their paths diverge, of course.

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Harry does not want his children and his wife to live as he lived

It seems clear from the interview with Oprah that Harry doesn’t want his family to go through the hardships he went through as a child during his existence as a prince locked up in the palace. In fact, Harry told Oprah of his brother and father, “I have compassion for them… They can’t escape.”

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But brotherly love is stronger

Despite everything, and even admitting that their paths have gone their separate ways, Harry insisted in the Oprah interview that he loves his brother and will always try to get along with him. According to journalist Gayle King, William and Harry spoke on the phone following the historic interview but did little. It will take longer for reconciliation to take place.

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Family instability

The British royal family had received a blow in the face of public opinion when Lady Di died and the people took to the streets to bid her farewell. William and Harry lived it from afar, immersed in their own grief. Today, they are the direct protagonists of the most important crisis that the Crown has ever known.

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The past always comes back

In fact, it seems that the wound that was the tragedy of Diana of Wales has not fully healed and has reopened. The piece of a puzzle that never found its place at Buckingham Palace.

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The past and future of William and Harry

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