Prince Harry appeared to make a pointed joke about siblings while speaking with an award winner at the WellChild Awards reception in London on Monday, raising fresh attention on the longstanding tensions within the royal family.
According to Hello! magazine, Harry, 40, who serves as patron of WellChild, asked 17-year-old award recipient Declan Bitmead about his family after Bitmead said he had a younger brother. "Does he drive you mad?" Harry asked, and later, after learning the brothers attended the same school, added, "That sometimes makes it more challenging." Bitmead reportedly answered no to the first question.
The exchange took place at the national charity for seriously ill children’s annual ceremony, which this year coincided with the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death. The comment was widely noted because of Harry’s public estrangement from his elder brother, Prince William, 43, and because the two brothers both attended Eton College as teenagers — a detail Harry has written about in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
In Spare, Harry described the strains of attending the same school as William and quoted an episode in which William told him to "pretend I didn’t know him," saying Eton had been his sanctuary. Harry wrote that attending together was "pure murder."
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from senior royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, a decision that precipitated a high-profile rift with other members of the royal family. The relationship between the brothers has been the subject of repeated media scrutiny and public commentary from both sides.
Reports this week said Harry was in the U.K. and that he might meet his father, King Charles III, for the first time in about 20 months. Those reports added that Prince William has no current plans to see his younger brother, a stance attributed to friends of the Prince of Wales and reported by outlets including the Daily Beast and the New York Post. One friend quoted by the Daily Beast said William "respects his father's rank" and would not make a fuss if a meeting occurred but considered such a meeting "a terrible, terrible idea."
King Charles’s former personal butler, Grant Harrold, told the New York Post that trust remains a barrier to reconciliation, saying the king misses his son but that William is wary because of material Harry has previously disclosed. "I think, sadly, they don’t trust him," Harrold said.
Observers have pointed to exchanges by both princes that have been interpreted as jabs at one another. In June, William was reported to have quipped during a visit to the Army Air Corps in Wattisham, Suffolk: "Families okay? See you enough? Some of them might not want to see you that much," a remark commentators tied to the brothers’ strained relationship.
WellChild, which runs the awards Harry attended, is the U.K.’s national charity for seriously ill children. The event recognizes young people and families coping with serious health challenges and typically draws patrons and supporters from public life. Harry has been associated with WellChild for several years and has used appearances to spotlight the charity’s work.
The remark on Monday was brief and made during informal conversation rather than in a formal speech. Media coverage of the exchange has highlighted the connection between Harry’s comment and his public reflections on sibling rivalry and school life, as well as ongoing reporting about the royal family’s internal dynamics.
Representatives for Prince Harry and Prince William did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the exchange. The WellChild Awards took place as scheduled, with winners and their families recognized for their achievements and resilience.