Princes William and Harry to make ‘joint’ appearance at Diana memorial event today
Prince of Wales set to leave ceremony before Duke of Sussex joins virtually in move that throws into sharp relief damaged relationship of royal siblings
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The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex are taking part in a ‘joint’ ceremony paying tribute to their late mother – from opposite sides of the Atlantic.
In an appearance that throws into sharp relief the damaged relationship of the royal siblings, William will attend the Diana Legacy Award event in London in person on Thursday night, with Harry due to join a video call after his brother has left the ceremony.
The prince is expected to give a speech at the Science Museum to mark the charity’s 25th anniversary and present awards to 20 recipients.
The duke will then appear via video call with the winners, according to reports – after William has left the building.
The Diana Award was set up to promote the princess’s belief that young people have the power to change the world for the better.
Dr Tessy Ojo, chief executive of the Diana Award, told The Times: “It’s a privilege to have the support of both the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex – particularly as we mark our 25th anniversary year.”
While a spokesman for the award told The Telegraph that Harry will be a “key part” of the celebration. “He is scheduled to speak with the award recipients, virtually, on the evening of the awards to celebrate their accomplishments,” he said.
It comes after the duke made a flying visit to the UK from his home in the US following the King’s announcement of his cancer diagnosis – but did not meet with his brother while in London, dashing hopes the health shock might repair the siblings’ fractured relationship.
A well-publicised rift between the brothers has only deepened in recent years, following Harry and his wife Meghan Markle’s decision to step back as senior royals in January 2020 and leave for California. In the wake of the move, multiple grievances were then shared by the couple as to their alleged treatment at the hands of the royal family.
The duke’s allegations against his family appeared unrelenting in the aftermath of Megxit with his Oprah interview, and, in the months following the Queen’s death, his Netflix documentary and memoir Spare.
There were accusations of racism in relation to Archie’s skin tone before he was born – with the remarks in the end alleged to have come from two senior royals – and claims Kensington Palace lied to protect William over reports he allegedly bullied Harry out of the royal family.
Harry claimed Charles was jealous of Meghan and Kate, did not hug him when he told him his mother had died, and said he believed the King was “never made” for single parenthood, but “to be fair, he tried”.
The duke also accused William of physically attacking him and throwing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan, teasing him about his panic attacks, and, along with Kate, encouraging him to wear a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.
Charles, according to Harry, pleaded with his sons during a tense meeting after the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral: “Please, boys. Don’t make my final years a misery.”
While Charles and Harry were said to still speak, William has reportedly not been in contact with his brother for an extended period of time.
Meanwhile, the ongoing row over a Mother’s Day photo doctored by the Princess of Wales continues to plague the royal family.
Kate Middleton was on Monday forced to personally apologise and publicly admit to editing a picture of her and her three children – Princes George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte – released by Kensington Palace the previous day.
Within hours of the palace sharing it on social media, international picture agencies began recalling the image, citing fears it had been “manipulated”, as eagle-eyed royal fans pointed out numerous editing concerns.
Despite coming under pressure to repair the PR damage caused by the controversy, the palace has refused to release the original unedited photo.
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