Royal Family Photographer Pinpoints the Moment Long Before Meghan When Prince Harry Was ‘Fed up’ With Prince William and Their Relationship
Prior to their royal rift, the public had long believed that Prince William and Prince Harry had a great relationship and couldn’t have been closer. Then, after the Duke of Sussex married Meghan Markle, stepped down as a senior royal, and moved to America, his wife was blamed for breaking up the brothers’ relationship.
However, not everyone is in agreement that the former Suits star is the reason for the brothers’ estrangement.
1 royal photographer insists William and Harry are no longer close because of Meghan
Arthur Edwards is a photographer who has taken pictures of the royal family for over four decades. He began working for The Sun in 1977 and has photographed the royals on hundreds of international tours, at seven weddings, and at five funerals, including the late Queen Elizabeth II‘s service in 2022.
During an appearance on the YouTube podcast Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered, Edwards explained: “The split with these brothers was the worst part because they were so close. I photographed them both since they were [babies] coming out in their mother‘s arms, and I’ve seen them grow up together. I’ve seen them learn to ski together, learn to waterski together, learn to fly together when they both joined the Royal Air Force.
“They were inseparable. They would always joke about each other … They were fun. And then Meghan came along, and suddenly, everything changed. Everything changed, I think, for the worse for the family because although [in] the first year of Meghan it was great. She really embraced the job … She really did warm to the public and the public loved her — suddenly, after about 18 months, everything changed.”
Edwards added, “Meghan is not talking to her family and now Prince Harry is not talking to his. There’s a common denominator there.”
Another photographer says he saw cracks in the princes’ relationship before Meghan
However, another royal photographer is putting the brakes on the theory that Meghan is the cause of the brothers’ split because he saw evidence of their fractured relationship years earlier.
In the documentary William and Harry: The Unseen Photos, a few Mirror photographers, including Ian Lloyd, who has also written dozens of books about the royals, looked back at the most impactful images they have taken of the family.
Speaking to The Mirror, Lloyd said: “Looking back at my photos with hindsight, I can now see one or two tell-tale signs that things weren’t going that well between the brothers. When they posed for photos at RAF Shawbury in 2009, where they were both training to be helicopter pilots, they appeared to be going through the motions.”
He continued: “At William’s wedding to Kate Middleton in April 2011, Harry looked quite fed up when I saw him. In his autobiography Spare, Harry says he wasn’t happy wearing his uncomfortable Blues and Royal uniform. The other reason he looked glum on the way back may be that he realized their lives were now on separate trajectories.
“Marriage to Meghan Markle has given Harry the family unit he so craved, but has also sounded the death knell for his relationship with his brother, which now seems beyond repair.”
