‘Mirrored’ actions but ‘overworked’ smiles… behind-the-scenes last time feuding William & Harry reunited to honour Diana
PRINCE William and Prince Harry will reunite tonight to honour their late mum, Princess Diana – but they won’t appear at the same time.
The warring brothers are speaking at the annual Diana Legacy Award event, but won’t reunite in person, as they did when they unveiled a statue of her in 2021.
While the Prince of Wales will stand before a crowd in London and make a speech honouring prize winners, Prince Harry will later pay tribute virtually from California.
This is due to take place after Wills has already left for the night, according to The Times.
The princes last reunited in person for the Diana Legacy Awards on what would have been her 60th birthday three years ago.
According to a body language expert, their smiles were “overworked” as they walked through Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden and greeted their late mother’s extended family.
Judi James told Fabulous that Prince Harry and Prince William prioritised “their roles as Diana’s sons over their roles as brothers” that afternoon.
She explained: “Emerging side-by-side their smiles did appear slightly over-worked at first but one very telling trait was how their body language was mirrored.
“This kind of mimicry suggests strong subliminal bonds, hinting that old ties still bind them despite their current rifts.”
But the expert highlighted how Prince Harry repeatedly reached for his wedding ring as he walked alongside his brother in the grounds of his old home.
Analysing the brother’s interaction, Judi said: “Harry’s hand reached to touch his wedding ring, which is a self-comfort gesture suggesting some inner tension.
“Although it also hinted how much he sees his family as a source of support.”
At the time, the brothers hadn’t appeared in public together since Prince Philip‘s funeral three months before and their relationship was reportedly “incredibly strained”.
Analysing the footage of the brothers, lip reader John Cassidy says they set aside their feud and bonded over the touching Diana tribute.
As they walked down the steps out of Kensington Palace, Prince William turned to his brother and gushed over the garden – which is where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in 2017.
The lip reader claims William said to Harry: “Great isn’t it? Amazing little place.”
Inside Prince William and Prince Harry's rift
In 2018, the Sun told how “simmering tension” began when William questioned the speed of Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother to brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fall out.
Although it’s not clear what Prince Harry said in response, the Duke did give royal fans waiting outside the Palace a quick wave.
Once the stunning statue was unveiled, the lip reader claims the brothers’ uncle Earl Spencer said to Prince William: “That’s how she would have wanted it.”
In a statement, the brothers poignantly said: “Every day, we wish she were still with us, and our hope is that this statue will be seen forever as a symbol of her life and her legacy.”
Harry said of the event: “William and I are recognising mum’s 60th birthday.
“Later this week, my brother and I are recognising what would have been our mum’s 60th birthday, and she would be so proud of you all for living an authentic life with purpose and with compassion for others.”
Last year for the Diana Legacy Awards, the princes recorded separate videos to congratulate the winners as they celebrated Princess Diana’s globally recognised charity work.
The first hints of friction between the brothers reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Then The Sun told how “simmering tension” began when William questioned the speed of Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
Harry, 39, later hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
The brothers were last seen together ahead of the late Queen’s funeral in 2022, when they appeared to come together to put on a united front with their wives.
Prior to that they were seen together in public at the Queen‘s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June the same year.
This year’s celebrations come in the wake of the Photoshop saga – where Princess Kate was forced to admit she had edited a sweet Mother’s Day picture.