There’s no doubt the Princess of Wales is one of the most adept and capable peacemakers in the royal family. Her skills at smoothing over even the most awkward of confrontations are admired worldwide, most notably on the day of the Queen’s funeral, when she walked serenely between her husband and his estranged brother Prince Harry.
But according to royal sources, the princess, 41, has had enough of playing nice when it comes to her brother-in-law. Deeply hurt by the 38-year-old’s controversial memoir Spare and his ongoing onslaught of television interviews, Kate is said to have used the opportunity of the coronation to finally confront Harry just hours before the big event, reaching out to him unexpectedly.
“Kate knew this would be the only time she could speak to Harry before he closed himself off from the family again,” says an insider. “After all, with so much going on between them, there was going to be zero chance at the actual ceremony.”
Sources say Kate wanted Harry to know how much he’s hurt them and how his actions are making things irreparable with his brother – without Meghan or even William listening in, although Prince William did give his approval to Kate to speak to his brother. “Kate never thought in a million years that Harry would hurt his own family like this,” adds the insider.
“Harry and Kate were once so tight and she can’t forget that. It feels like she’s also lost a brother in all this mess and she wanted to ask Harry one very simple question, ‘Why did you betray us?'” In particular, Kate had a few bones to pick with him over his memoir.
“She had a lot of questions about that, and she wanted Harry to give her straight answers once and for all,” says the insider. “Kate knew it may have been her only chance to speak to Harry privately for a very long time.
“It was really important for her to say her piece in the hope that she might strike a chord with Harry, who used to always come to his sister-in-law for advice. It remains to be seen if her efforts worked,” says the source, revealing that Harry seems to be a different person now that he’s living in California and not the man she once knew.
“Kate’s still hopeful she might have hit home,” adds the insider, “but it was certainly a relief to finally be able to air some longstanding issues with Harry after months of silence.”