Today, Prince William stands in Prince Harry’s way, effectively derailing his attempts to return to the royal fold and paying no heed to the homesickness his brother might be experiencing. But what we didn’t know was that he had been a negative force in the Duke’s life for decades, messing up and ruining his happiness without pausing to look back.
While it is allegedly a conscious decision now, years ago, he was inadvertently cursing the smile on his brother’s face, not once but twice.
Apart from being the “spare” royal heir while William’s future as the king was confirmed, Harry was also at a disadvantage when it came to royal privileges and attention his brother garnered, especially when he got married to Kate in 2011 (after a rather dramatic break-up phase). At the time, Harry was in his first serious relationship with Chelsy Davy — a Zimbabwean lawyer who is now married to hotelier Sam Cutmore-Scott.
But what broke up the love birds who were going strong at that point?
William and Kate’s “grand and glorious” wedding.
Chelsy was always on the fence about battling the scrutiny being a royal would add to her life and she got her first proper glimpse of it when the Wales tied the knot. It was enough for her to end her long-running relationship with Harry soon after the wedding, as revealed by royal biographer Robert Lacey in his book Battle of Brothers (via Mirror).
“In 2011, after more comings and goings, she finally decided to go – and it was, ironically, Kate and William’s grand and glorious wedding that spring that did it for her. According to a friend, she told Harry that she could never make the sacrifices she had witnessed Kate making, particularly when it came to moulding her life around the unremitting attention of the press.”
This was not going to be the last time Harry lost a relationship to the royal life his brother and sister-in-law led — the next girlfriend to ditch him and their future would be the then-”rising” actress Cressida Bonas who was not comfortable with the comments that followed her as Harry’s girlfriend and severely disliked the fact that the relationship put her “in a box.”
But it was William and Kate’s royal Australia tour that broke the camel’s back.
“In 2014, she was said to have been ‘completely spooked’ after watching the TV coverage of William and Kate touring New Zealand with baby George in tow — that was not the way she would want to enjoy her eight-month-old son, she regretfully explained to Harry.”
While it is heartbreaking to read about Harry’s cursed love life, it is heartening to see him alongside a partner who has been with him through the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, willing to face every negative comment together and look straight at the harshest scrutiny aimed at them.