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Prince William made a rare public comment about his brother Prince Harry after years of tension between the royal siblings.
In a recently released featurette for the upcoming documentary, Prince William: We can end homelessness uploaded via YouTube on Saturday, October 26, the future King of England recalled a shared childhood memory.
William, 42, recalled how his late mother, Princess Dianatook him and Harry to The Passage – a British charity that supports people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness – which became an eye-opening childhood experience for him.
“My mother took me to The Passage; She took Harry and me there. I must have been 11 at the time, maybe 10,” William said. “I had never been to anything like this before, and I was a little worried about what to expect.”
William said the experience made him aware of how privileged his upbringing was, and forced him to recognize that not everyone’s life is the same as the one he was born into.
“My mother went about her business in her usual way, making everyone feel relaxed, laughing and joking with everyone. I remember thinking at the time, “Well, if everyone doesn’t have a house, they’ll all be very sad.” But it was incredible how happy the environment was,” William said. “I remember having some good conversations, playing chess and chatting, and then it dawned on me that there were other people out there who weren’t living the same lives as you.”
He continued, “You know, when you’re really little, you just think that life is what you see in front of you, and you don’t really have the idea of looking at anything else. It’s when you meet people, like I did back then, who put a different perspective in your head and say, “Well, I was living on the streets last night,” and you think, “Woah.” I remember that happening.”
The comments are believed to be the first time William has spoken publicly about Harry since their rift flared after Prince Harry and Harry Meghan Markles departure from the royal family in January 2020.
Harry, 40, has previously touched on his complicated relationship with his brother, including in a 2021 CBS interview.
“I love William dearly. We have been through hell together and we have a shared experience, but we are on different paths,” he said. “The relationship is space in this moment and time hopefully heals all things.”
Harry later described William as his “nemesis” in his 2023 memoir, Save.
“There’s always been a competition between us, strangely enough,” Harry said during an interview with Good morning America in January 2023 while promoting his book. “I think it really plays into or is always played by the ‘heir/spare’.”