Skip to main content

Prince William has gone on a charm offensive, much to the consternation of his younger brother, Prince Harry. 

In October, the future King of England made waves when he appeared as a guest on The Graham Norton Show. William sat down on Norton’s famous couch to discuss the Earthshot Prize, which he founded in an effort to identify and celebrate people who have “bold ideas” for improving the environment.  

“William had a fantastic time on Graham Norton, and the feedback at the Palace has been great, so expect more of that sort of thing,” a source told the U.K. tabloid Heat.

Prince William’s talk show moment had a dual purpose, the source added. “Obviously, the main motivation is to build support for his charities, particularly his environmental project Earthshot, as well as a way to modernize the monarchy [and] cultivate a more relaxed image,” they said.

However, William also had a personal reason for chatting it up on Norton’s show, where he shared the couch with actors Cate Blanchett and Hannah Waddingham and conservationist and TV presenter Robert Irwin, all of whom have been involved with the Earthshot Prize in some capacity.

“[I]t might just be that there’s also a certain satisfaction in showing Harry that he’s got him beat in the Hollywood popularity game,” the insider suggested. “Harry’s always felt William needs to show him up, so no doubt he’s looking at all this and taking it as more proof of how petty his brother can be.”

In recent years, William has added a number of bold-faced names to his list of famous friends, the source went on to say.

“William’s become friends with a good number of big celebrities, including David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise, and Robert Irwin. He’s also built chummy relationships with all sorts of other Hollywood types, including Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce,” they said. 

All that came as Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle’s, big Hollywood dreams appeared to sputter. Their high-profile deal with Netflix failed to produce major hits aside from their tell-all documentary special, and the couple recently left California to return to the U.K. Harry can’t help but see William’s move as a direct attack, the source claimed.

“There is no denying that William has put way more effort into his celebrity friendships in the last five years or so, and Harry is convinced it’s all just to prove that he’s somehow superior to him. Harry swears he’s the one who’s always been fascinated with Hollywood, not William,” the source told Heat. 

“From Harry’s perspective, this seems more twisted than William simply wanting to have a little fun and modernizing the monarchy,” they continued. “He sees it as another example of William trying to get the upper hand. He’s convinced his brother wants to infiltrate the same Hollywood circles that he and Meghan have been trying to establish themselves in so that he can make life uncomfortable for them.”

Meanwhile, not everyone in the U.K. is impressed with William rubbing shoulders with celebs. His Graham Norton Show appearance generated hundreds of complaints, The National reports, including from an anti-monarchist group that argued the appearance violated the BBC’s rules against endorsing specific charities or causes.

Best in News