PRINCE William hopes to repair his rift with Prince Harry now Megxit is done, but only if Meghan Markle doesn’t “unleash” on Oprah, royal sources have claimed.
The brothers’ relationship is understood to remain fragile after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were officially stripped of their royal patronages last week.
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William was said to be “really sad and genuinely shocked” by how his brother reacted as the Sussexes insisted they could still “live a life of service”.
Sources close to William said he believed Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, had been “insulting and disrespectful”, and he was “very upset by what has happened”.
But the Duke of Cambridge is now keen to focus on “purely family matters” with his brother in order to repair their bond, palace sources have said.
One source told The Times Meghan and Harry’s step-down could help rebuild the brothers’ relationship which has broken down in recent years.
“Over the last few months there have been more and more discussions, normal check-ins, that sort of stuff,” the source said.
“Both of them seem to have been making an effort for some time.”
They added: “Removing work as the thing to cause tension between them will hopefully allow a relationship of brothers to rebuild.
“But there’s a long way to go. This interview coming up will hopefully not make it harder.”
Meghan and Harry were interviewed by Oprah Winfrey last week, with Buckingham Palace concerned about what will be said in the tell-all chat set to air in the US on March 7.
Aides are said to be worried that the Duchess may “unleash” on her in-laws – but it is feared Wills could face the brunt of the criticism, The Telegraph reports.
It is thought the Duchess “would not be foolish enough” to take aim at either the Queen or the Duchess of Cambridge in the interview, but may reference tensions that have built up between her husband and his brother in recent years.
Royal sources have suggested that as long as the couple don’t make any personal attacks, the rift caused between Harry and William in recent years could be fixed.
One source close to the Sussexes told The Telegraph they would never say anything to disrespect the Queen or cause further tension and any suggestion otherwise was “just ridiculous.”
They said: “They have done and said nothing over the last year to indicate that they would be issuing any kind of personal attack on members of the Royal Family.”
The source agreed that now loose ends over the couple’s decision to seek an independent life had been tied up, there was hope that personal relationships could be repaired.
“There is a big difference between the family firm – family business – and the family,” they said.
Another source told the paper: “There is hope that they can all move forward now these loose ends have been tied up once and for all.
“The (one year) review had been hanging over both sides for some time but now it has finally been resolved, it allows all parties to work on purely family matters.”
The Celeb Report Online has approached both Buckingham Palace and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
