Prince William is reportedly willing to break years of silence with his estranged brother — but not before Meghan Markle stops talking about his wife and children.
William, 44, is prepared to speak with Prince Harry, 42, by phone or video call with no wives or children present, provided Harry’s wife, Markle, 45, stops publicly discussing Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, 44, and the couple’s three children, according to claims published Nov. 11, 2026, and credited to Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack.
Arrangements are reportedly underway for the private call, with neither wife nor any of the children taking part, leaving the focus squarely on the two brothers. Such a conversation would mark the first real thaw in a relationship described as icy for years.
What Meghan Must Stop Saying
“William is willing to speak to Harry, but he wants Kate and his children kept out of Meghan’s mouth,” said a royal source. The same source ruled out public remarks, private briefings and any attempt to pull William’s wife or children into the Sussexes’ grievances, calling all of them untouchable subjects.
The children in question are Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight. The feud has already crossed into comedy: the British version of “Saturday Night Live” skewered William, Kate, Harry and Markle in an Oct. 10 sketch. A royal source warned that the brothers’ long silence has made family life awkward, said both men are being laughed at, and argued that one of them needs to start behaving like an adult rather than a schoolboy refusing to share a lunch table.
The Memoir That Still Stings
Willingness to talk is not forgiveness. An insider said Harry has inflicted serious damage in William’s eyes, pointing to the explosive television interview the couple gave CBS in 2021, a year after they stepped down as senior royals, and to Harry’s decision to air family secrets in his 2023 memoir, “Spare,” which remains a sore point between them.
The same insider framed the planned call as William opening the door only a crack, said the prince may yet regret it, and added that there is no turning back now. Harry, the insider said, may never fully repair what he broke.
A Coronation Couldn’t Reunite Them
Not everyone believes a phone call changes anything. In an assessment published Nov. 10, royal author Christopher Andersen, who wrote “Kate!”, said reconciliation is not in the cards, that each brother is convinced he has nothing to apologize for, and that William regards Harry as having betrayed both the family and the monarchy.
“These are two extraordinarily strong and stubborn men who have, sadly, learned over the past few years that they can live without each other,” Andersen said. He noted that the death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles’ coronation and the cancer battles of the king and the Princess of Wales all came and went without bringing the brothers back together, and he said Harry’s reported return to the U.K. only aggravated an unhealed wound.
Andersen also described Kate as deeply disappointed in Harry and suggested she has no appetite for stepping into the dispute at all. British broadcaster Helena Chard said William once viewed his younger brother as the man who had his back, and claimed William finds it impossible to forgive Harry for leaving him to shoulder the pressure of being future king alone.
Royal commentator Meredith Constant took the opposite position, arguing the Sussexes have nothing to apologize for because they speak overwhelmingly well of William and Kate, and saying the future king should be the one to lead the way back. Former royal press secretary Dick Arbiter disagreed, insisting Harry is the one who must seek forgiveness and show contrition.
An apology, by most accounts, is not coming. A source said Harry and Markle have no plans to apologize to William and Kate, following earlier reports that the couple hoped to make amends over comments from their 2021 Oprah interview — an account a source close to the pair dismissed as nonsense. Harry has reportedly made progress with his father, while nothing has shifted on William’s side.
Now It’s Harry’s Move
Harry has said he wants to rebuild relations with both his father and his brother, a desire he raised in a magazine interview. The Prince of Wales, meanwhile, is said to be determined that his wife and children never again become collateral damage in the dispute. The brothers are widely believed to have had no contact since the Sussexes moved back to the U.K.
That leaves the next move with Harry. A royal source said he would be foolish not to follow William’s rules, arguing the prince is asking for very little — simply that Kate and the children go unmentioned. The same source cast the planned call as a potential small step forward or a large step backward, warning that every time the Sussexes discuss William’s family, even privately, the monarchy suffers. As one insider put it, the brothers cannot keep fighting forever.
