Video LoadingVideo UnavailableClick to playTap to playThe video will auto-play soon8CancelPlay nowSign up to our free email to get all the latest royal news and picturesMore Newsletters SubscribePlease enter a valid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.More NewslettersWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More infoThank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow me See OurPrivacy Notice See OurPrivacy Notice×Group 28 Sign up to our free email to get all the latest royal news and picturesInvalid emailSomething went wrong, please try again later.Sign UpNo thanks, closeWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info×Group 28Thank you for subscribing!We have more newslettersShow MeNo thanks, closeSee our
Privacy Notice In the years before the infamous royal rift between the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, the pair – along with the Princess of Wales – were a popular trio who frequently carried out official engagements together. While the last four years have brought about a breakdown in this once strong relationship, there was a small reprieve last week when the Waleses wished Prince Harry a happy 40th birthday on social media. While the message was not personally typed by Prince William or Catherine, a leading royal expert explained the significance behind it, as well as why the Princess of Wales could have a major part to play in the decision to publicly wish the Duke well on his special day.
The trio were once very close and carried out engagements together
(Image: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Referring to how William and Kate’s well wishes would have made Harry feel, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively told OK!: “I think he would have been pleased. “I still think things are too sensitive for a meaningful reconciliation with William, but the fact that he and Catherine authorised the greeting to be posted is definitely an unexpected turn of events. I don’t think we should hold our breath for the step to really signal the start of a reconciliation, but it was an unexpected turn of events. “Landmark birthdays can often be a time for taking a look at your life and assessing how you’re doing. But on this occasion it seems to be William who has been doing some re-evaluation.
The Princess of Wales made it clear that her family are her absolute priority in the video to reveal she had completed her chemotherapy treatment
(Image: KENSINGTON PALACE/AFP via Getty)
Pointing to how the Princess of Wales determination to keep her family as her absolute priority as she begins to eye a return to public duties as and when she can, Jennie adds: “My gut feeling is that Catherine has been influential in this slight softening of her husband‘s implacable stand against Harry. “In the moving film she made about the end of her chemotherapy treatment, she spoke about how cancer had given her a new perspective. What clearly matters to her more than anything now is family, and loving and being loved. Perhaps she has persuaded William that life is too short to bear grudges forever.”
The Princess of Wales and her brother-in-law were incredibly close
(Image: Getty Images)
From very early on, Prince Harry and Kate became fast friends and were frequently pictured giggling and whispering together at public events. It was often said that when Prince William and Harry rowed, Kate was known to step in and be the ‘peacemaker’ between them. But all that changed following Harry and Meghan’s decision to make a series of bombshell claims about the royal family. As the distance between William and Harry increased, Harry and Kate’s friendship also crumbled. According to Endgame author Omid Scobie, there is now “no going back” for Kate and Harry. A source told him: “She was close to Harry, and she will always look back fondly on those moments… and the relationship he had with their children… but to her, there is no way she could ever trust them after all their interviews.”
The relationship between the pair has been damaged in recent years
(Image: WireImage)
However, it appears that Kate’s health issues may have made Harry reconsider as a source told Closer magazine: “Although a lot has gone on, times like this have reminded them that life is short and family is important. It obviously won’t heal everything overnight but it has made Harry think about things differently. “The whole thing has brought up a lot of emotions for Harry, who very much still loves his father and sister-in-law – one of those being a slight sense of guilt about what’s happened and how much they’ve all grown apart.” It comes after a friend of William’s confirmed that Harry’s apparent criticism of Kate in his Netflix documentary was the “lowest of the low” for the future king.Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnKate MiddletonPrince HarryPrince WilliamWilliam and KateRoyal FamilyHarry and MeghanMeghan Markle
