Prince William knew there was no point in talking about his ongoing rift with Prince Harry because any serious discussion "will have to go through Meghan", a royal expert has claimed.
The two brothers were seen laughing and joking together as they unveiled a statue for their late mum, Princess Diana, on Thursday.
Royal author Robert Lacey said the two princes were "good performers" during the event, adding that some friends felt a sense of "despair" and "sadness" to the event.
Referring to Prince Philip's funeral in April, Mr Lacey claimed the two brothers were "at each other's throats" when the cameras went off, the Daily Mail reports.
Following up on the author's comments, Daily Mail Diary Editor Richard Eden claimed that even if Harry and William appeared close during the small ceremony at Kensington Palace on Thursday, they probably did not have any deep conversations.
"Whatever discussions they’ve had between Harry and William whether it’s about the football or whatever while Harry’s here, they won’t have been very serious," he said.
"I mean William knows [that] without Meghan being there, there’s no point in discussing anything serious, because it will have to go through her anyway."
Tensions between the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex reportedly began when Meghan came into Harry's life, according to biography Finding Freedom, which came out last year.
The older brother reportedly told Harry: "Don’t feel you need to rush this. Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl."
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote that the fact that William referred to Meghan as “this girl” immediately bothered Harry.
Speaking on the ITV documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey last year, Harry referred to the rift with his brother, saying: "Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it’s under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens.
“But look, we’re brothers, we’ll always be brothers. And we’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, as I know he’ll always be there for me.”
And during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March, Harry described the relationship with his brother as "space".
After Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family and moved to the US with their son Archie, they did not return to the UK also due to coronavirus restrictions for about one year.
The Duke of Sussex attended his grandfather's funeral in April and was pictured walking with William and Kate after the religious ceremony.
He then returned to the US, where last month Meghan gave birth to their daughter Lilibet Diana.
On Thursday this week, Harry and William were snapped walking side by side with other attendees as they made their way to the memorial for Princess Diana.
Harry was pictured smiling as he met his brother for the first time since their grandfather's funeral three months ago and they were seen chatting as they unveiled a tribute for their mum.
Both brothers have opened up about how their mother's death affected their mental health.
They commissioned the statue in 2017 to mark her life and unveiled it this week, on what would have been the Princess of Wales' 60th birthday.
