As soon as Buckingham Palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis, royal reporters fired up their laptops and wrote a series of columns and thinkpieces suggesting that Prince William isn’t up to the job and that he desperately needs to make peace with Prince Harry. Even funnier, the royalists put it all on Harry, like Harry was supposed to beg William for… something. That’s because any royalist with half a brain knows that Prince Petulant is still seething with rage about all things Harry. Speaking of, William read all of those thinkpieces and his response was to insist (via sources) that he will never, ever meet his brother and Harry WISHES!

Prince William has no plans to meet Prince Harry after he flew to the UK today to be by the ailing King’s side following his cancer diagnosis.

The Prince of Wales remains focussed on looking after his wife Kate, who is recovering from abdominal surgery and is taking extended leave from public duties until after Easter, sources have said. William, 41, is due to return to public work tomorrow, carrying out an investiture at Windsor Castle in the morning and later attending a gala for the London Air Ambulance in the evening.

The Duke of Sussex, 39, has cleared his diary to fly to London to be with his father despite their troubled relationship, raising concerns about the seriousness of the King’s health. He was pictured arriving at Clarence House to visit his father this afternoon.

Sources close to the Duke, who now lives in Montecito, California, have suggested he would have welcomed an opportunity to meet with William “if the opportunity were to arise”. A source said: “The Duke’s primary reason to travel to the UK is to visit his father. If the opportunity were to arise to see the Prince of Wales then the Duke would have gladly accepted it.”

A source close to William said: “The prince’s main focus is for his wife, who is recovering from surgery, his three children and now his father. There are no plans for Harry’s visit to act as some kind of vehicle for reconciliation.”

[From The Daily Mirror]

Other outlets must have gotten the same briefing, but they made it sound much more mutual, as in neither Harry or William were prioritizing some kind of brotherly meeting. I wonder who dropped “If the opportunity were to arise to see the Prince of Wales then the Duke would have gladly accepted it” into the Mirror’s story. While it does make Harry seem like he’s “begging” for reconciliation, it also makes Harry look mature. While William looks like Harry’s sudden visit caught him flat-footed and mid-tantrum. Speaking of, that mysterious Friend of Bill once again chatted with the Daily Beast about the nonexistent plans for reconciliation between the brothers:

One old school friend of both William and Harry, who has remained loyal to William and not spoken to Harry since he emigrated to the US, told The Daily Beast: “The news about their father is absolutely shocking, but I don’t think it means William wants to meet up with Harry and shake hands for the cameras. If the papers want to write that they are going to be having pints together and a heart to heart, they will, but in reality, the idea that William and Kate are ever, ever going to let Harry back into their lives, or trust him with any personal information ever again is a total fantasy. It’s simply not possible to exaggerate how bad and how damaged the relationship is, and how angry William is at Harry for betraying him for money.”

Asked if his father’s illness would not concentrate the mind on the importance of family bonds, the friend said: “This isn’t just two guys falling out. The point is, Harry betrayed the monarchy. He can’t be trusted, he is out.”

A former staffer who worked with Harry and William told The Daily Beast: “I gather it is considered highly unlikely they would meet. The relationship is non-existent because of the allegations made against his wife.”

[From The Daily Beast]

I wonder if this is the same friend who told the Daily Beast that the next time William would speak to Harry is at their father’s funeral? It sounds like it. This Friend-of-Bill certainly is well-versed in all of William’s childish and hypocritical talking points. Maybe if William’s friends keep screaming this version of events, someone will believe them.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.