Prince Harry and Prince William were estranged at the time of Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022. However, that didn’t mean they didn’t still understand each other. As they walked in the funeral procession, Harry cracked a dark joke that briefly broke the ice with his brother.
A fleeting moment of dark humor reconnected the estranged brothers
In early 2023, Prince Harry sat down with journalist Tom Bradby to discuss his memoir Spare. Harry discussed the ups and downs of royal life, his exit from the family, and plans for the future with his wife, Meghan Markle.
In the hour-long discussion, Harry touched on the death of his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth. He shared a story of a fleeting moment of dark humor that briefly reconnected him to his estranged brother, Prince William.
The brothers walked side-by-side as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin moved across the Palace of Westminster complex for her state funeral. They remained behind the coffin after it exited Westminster Hall, as it headed toward Westminster Abbey.
Harry told Bradby (via NationalWorld), “Just recently, my brother and I were walking the same route, and we sort of joked to each other and said, ‘At least we know the way.’” He connected the experience of walking behind his grandmother’s coffin via the same route the brothers traveled to honor their late mother, Princess Diana.
“But otherwise, it was very similar. The only difference was the levels of emotion. Because our grandmother had finished life. There was more, I think, of a celebration and respect and recognition to what she had accomplished. Whereas our mother was taken away far too young.”
Prince Harry and Prince William famously walked behind their mother’s coffin
Sadly, the brothers knew the route they walked to honor their grandmother well. They were just 15 and 12 when they walked, heads bowed, behind their mother’s coffin in during Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.
William and Harry joined the funeral procession at St James’s Palace alongside their father, Charles, Diana’s brother, Earl Spencer, and their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, until the procession arrived at Westminster Abbey.
“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” Harry told Newsweek. “I don’t think any child should be asked to do that under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
In a BBC documentary marking the 20th anniversary of Diana’s passing, Prince William said walking behind his mother’s casket was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.” He recalled how he used his long bangs as a “safety blanket” during the “very long, lonely walk” to Westminster Abbey. “I felt if I looked at the floor and my hair came down over my face, no one could see me,” he explained.
The experience between the estranged brothers during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral walk was very different from when they united in their grief at their mother’s funeral. A body language expert claimed Prince Harry appeared to long for that same unity as they united to pay homage to the late monarch.
Prince Harry appeared ‘regretful’ during his grandmother’s funeral
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022 | Christopher Furlong/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Body language expert Judi James believed Prince Harry appeared “regretful” during Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. She told The Sun Harry kept looking at his brother forlornly.
“During the service, he was dabbing tears. As well as tending to look around a lot and there were at least two occasions when his gaze that was more of a stare appeared directed at William,” she said.
“His expression suggested sadness and possible regret,” James continued. She believes he became most emotional after the service as the royal family walked out of Westminster Abbey.
“Standing in line he watched as the brother he had once been so close to; the nephew he had adored playing with, and the sister-in-law he had viewed as his own sister filed in front of him with not one glance in his direction,” James declared.
Prince Harry and Prince William remain estranged. Harry shared his side of story regarding the break in his relationship with the royal family in Spare and in a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey and his wife, Meghan Markle.
