How Prince William had ‘terrible fights’ with his ‘secret’ sister ahead of royal Christmas reunion – & Harry stays away

Steadfast when his family needed him, William has proved himself as a man and future monarch of strength and compassion.

While he might not have been present during Kate’s courageous video address — make no mistake, he has been by her side every step of the way.

William has stepped up with school-run duties and provided a “great source of comfort and reassurance” to his wife.

But he has also been a comforting and reassuring presence for the public.

From leading members of the Royal Family at the Commonwealth Day Service to enjoying cheerful banter with youngsters on a youth centre visit, he hasn’t put a foot wrong.

Even then there were few chinks in his facade — but Kate was clearly on his mind.

“She needs to be sat here to hear this,” he smiled when the discussion turned to the challenges of young families.

But ultimately he is only human.

To have your father and your wife diagnosed with cancer in such quick succession is heart-shattering.

It’s a remarkable insight into the character of this young man that he has been so incredibly brave.

Theirs is a very private turmoil which has been brought into the public arena by the nature of their roles as future King and Queen.

William must feel the weight of enormous responsibility, both personally and for the monarchy, of which he is now the public face.

But he knows his most important role is that of dad and husband.

He will make that his priority.

This is a distinct difference from the ways of the past, where your royal role came before the role of spouse and parent.

Think back to when the Queen was young.

William's priority is his family

It was a man’s world then — and she was forced to abandon her children in a way that William is determined not to.

William and Kate waited until the school term was over and their children were home before making their public announcement.

They needed to be prepared.

In this, they will have had the wholehearted support of Charles — who knows what it feels like to be brought up by nannies.

William was also acutely aware of the lack of his own father’s presence in his life, especially when things went wrong.

In 1991, he was accidentally hit over the head with a golf club when he was at school and Diana was having lunch in her favourite restaurant San Lorenzo.

The call came through that William had been bashed on the head and they thought he might die so it was very serious.

Both Charles and Diana rushed down to Ludgrove.

William was taken to the Royal Berkshire Hospital and then to Great Ormond Street Hospital and Diana went with him.

But ever a man of duty, Charles prioritised his engagements.

William is determined to do things differently.

The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.

Once she'd returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.

He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.

The younger prince reportedly didn't take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he "went mental".

Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.

The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.

Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.

The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.

The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure - but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.

Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.

The move further increased rumours of a fallout.

Harry also hinted in his ITV documentary "Harry and Meghan, An African Journey" that he and his brother had grown apart.

In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.

Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.

In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a "peacemaker" between the brothers.

Harry claimed his brother "knocked him to the floor" during an argument about Meghan, in his memoir.

In Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan "rude" and "difficult" during a row.

Harry alleged William "grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor".

He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.

In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch's shock cancer diagnosis.

Harry flew back to the US the following day - without seeing Wills. 

In May he visited the UK for a three-day visit without seeing King Charles or Prince William.