Prince William “absolutely hates” Prince Harry and will “never trust him again” after the Duke of Sussex laid bare his brother’s settlement in a phone hacking case, a friend close to the future monarch has claimed.
This week it emerged that William reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers in a phone hacking case, according to a witness statement supporting his own legal action against the Murdoch-owned publisher.
According to Harry’s statement, William received around £1 million. The public release of the settlement details came as a huge shock to William and other members of the Royal Family, who had no idea it would be mentioned in Harry’s written statement at the High Court.
And one friend of William’s claimed to the Daily Beast that Harry’s actions were “scorched earth stuff… By revealing these secrets, he is burning everything to the ground”.
READ MORE: Queen Camilla gets full makeover ahead of King Charles’s Coronation
The source claimed Harry, who famously quit frontline senior royal duties in 2020 to live in the US, is “making it very clear that he considers his relationship with William is over”.
Speaking about William’s reaction to the statement, the prince’s friend told the Daily Beast: “William will never trust Harry again. How could he?
“The truth is William absolutely hates Harry now and will never forgive him for the damage he has done to the family.”
The derailing of relations is the latest in a long line of tense exchanges in recent months between Harry and his family.
Earlier this year, Harry’s relationship with his family was plunged into chaos after he released his bombshell autobiography Spare.
Among these was the claim Harry was embroiled in a physical altercation with William after the pair had fallen out over the Duke of Sussex’s wife Meghan Markle.
But a source told The Daily Beast in April that King Charles III remained hopeful that his son Harry could integrate himself into some royal duties despite leaving his post, including his appearance at the Coronation next month.
They added: “Charles has been through an enormous amount himself, and he does have a deep sympathy for Harry, who he adores.”
In Harry’s statement to the High Court, he claimed that William “appeared to know an awful lot more than I did on the subject of phone hacking” before going into further detail about the Prince of Wales’ settlement with NGN.
The reported deal was approved by Queen Elizabeth II amid pressure from Charles, reports say.
Harry is set to return to the UK on May 6, when the world’s eyes will be on Westminster Abbey as Charles is officially crowned monarch.
Billions are set to tune in, with some of the world’s most influential figures tuning in from the Abbey.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews
