Prince William hopes that his brother's exit from his royal duties will help heal the rift between them, it has been reported.
The two brothers have had a strained relationship over the past few years and in 2019 Harry admitted that he and future king William were on "different paths."
And the rift between them was looking far from repaired on Friday, when Harry and Meghan Markle, who have sat down for a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, told the Queen they will not be returning to life as working royals.
They will therefore be stripped of their honorary military appointments and royal patronages.
Now, The Times reports that William's reaction was 'less one of shock than resignation.'
The paper reports that an unnamed source said: "I don’t think anyone was surprised.
“Removing work as the thing to cause tension between them will hopefully allow a relationship of brothers to rebuild.
"But there’s a long way to go. This interview coming up will hopefully not make it harder.”
The source also reportedly said that the brothers' relationship had begun to improve over the last few months, with both making more effort despite the distance with Harry now based in California and William in the UK.
Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that Duke of Cambridge wants to focus solely on family matters in order to repair the bond with his brother.
One source is reported to have said: "There is hope that they can all move forward now these loose ends have been tied up once and for all.
"The [one year] review had been hanging over both sides for some time but now it has finally been resolved, it allows all parties to work on purely family matters.”
It comes after Harry and Meghan, who wanted to retain their formal roles with the military, arts, Commonwealth and sporting organisations, were told they would have to relinquish the posts after talks with the Queen and senior royals.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex "crossed the red line" in deciding to walk away from the monarchy, a royal biographer said, following the announcement on Friday.
An interview recorded with Oprah Winfrey is set to be broadcast next month as Meghan and Harry continue to build their new life in the United States.
