(LONDON) — Prince William and Prince Harry, brothers whose relationship has been strained over the past year, have reportedly spoken to each other as they prepare for the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip.
William, 38, and Harry, 36, are understood to have spoken by phone at some point since Harry arrived in the United Kingdom last weekend according to the U.K.’s The Telegraph.
Harry is currently staying at Frogmore Cottage, his family’s home in Windsor, while he quarantines, following COVID-19 protocols after flying from California to the U.K.
William and his family, including his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are currently staying at their Anmer Hall home in Norfolk, about two hours from Windsor.
William, Kate and Harry are among the 30 family members and close friends who will attend Philip’s funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday. The funeral for Philip, who died April 9 at 99 years old, has been modified due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The fact that it’s a scaled-down funeral is exactly what Prince Phillip would have wanted,” said ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson. “Because really it’s all about family in the end, whether you’re a king or a pauper.”
Harry will not see his family in person until the day of the funeral, which will be the first time he has seen them in over one year, when he and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped down as senior working members of the royal family.
Harry and Meghan now live in California with their nearly 2-year-old son Archie. The couple spoke out in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey last month that spilled tensions in the royal family into public view.
In that interview, Harry described himself and William as being on “different paths.”
“The relationship is space at the moment, and, you know, time heals all things, hopefully,” Harry said. “I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together, and we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.”
Both Harry and William are expected to walk together behind their grandfather’s coffin on Saturday, in a procession led by their father, Prince Charles, the oldest of Queen Elizabeth and Philip’s four children.
Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
