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Footage of Prince William and Prince Harry discussing childhood home movies of King Charles III from the 1950s has resurfaced online amidst the brothers' widely publicized feud.
The brothers' relationship has been pulled into sharp focus in recent months, as Harry confirmed speculation that the pair were not currently speaking at the time he published his bombshell memoir, Spare, in which he made a number of allegations against William, including physical assault.
William did not respond publicly to Harry's book, nor did King Charles, in line with a blanket "no comment" position adopted by Buckingham Palace upon its publication in January.
Father and sons were partially reunited in May for Charles' coronation at Westminster Abbey, however, Harry was not seated with William and no public interaction between them took place.
TikTok user @royaltyfamily99 uploaded a video on July 11 that featured footage of the brothers conversing pre-royal fallout over archive footage compiled to celebrate the 90th birthday of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. The footage came from the 2016 documentary Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute.
Watching footage of Charles as a young child driving in a toy car with his younger sister, Princess Anne, filmed at Balmoral Castle in the 1950s, William commented: "You can see Pa trying to run down his little sister! It's got a little 'L' on as well. Sweet."
"And he's got his cushion which he still has now," Harry responded. "That's ridiculous, I mean, at the age of what is he there? Four."
The social media clip has been viewed over 130,000 times so far on TikTok, receiving in excess of 6,000 likes and numerous comments, many of which reflected upon the state of the siblings' relationship today.
"No one can say they didn't get along. Laughing and talking," wrote one TikTok user of the interaction.
"Hopefully they work out their differences we want to see this brotherly bond," posted another TikToker, with a further comment reading: "So beautiful. I love the princes together I hope they can reconcile one day!"
In a subsequent clip, William and Harry are seen reacting to footage captured at Buckingham Palace on June 2, 1953, the day of their late grandmother's coronation.
In the film, members of the British and extended European royal houses are being corralled into the frame by Queen Elizabeth's husband, Prince Philip.
"Look at everyone just sparkling," Harry said, with William responding: "Yeah, that's a lot of jewelry."
"[Look at] Grandpa trying to do some ushering," he continued as Harry offered a mock impression of his grandfather, ordering: "'Will you get in! Everyone, come on.'"
"You can see why he got fed up with doing family photos after this," William said.
Since 2020, when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, split from the monarchy and moved to the United States, the focus on the prince's relationship with his brother intensified, with some commentators and social media users blaming Meghan for the breakdown of their bond.
Earlier this year, Harry told CNN's Anderson Cooper that he had written his bombshell memoir, in part, to dispel this false narrative and that though he loved his brother, the pair had never been as close as the monarchy or the press would have had the public believe.
When Cooper suggested that Harry's portrayal of William in his book was "cutting," the prince said: "I don't see it as cutting at all."
"You know, my brother and I love each other. I love him deeply," Harry said. "There has been a lot of pain between the two of us, especially the last six years. None of anything I've written, anything that I've included is ever intended to hurt my family.
"But it does give a full picture of the situation as we were growing up, and also squashes this idea that somehow my wife was the one that destroyed the relationship between these two brothers."
Right now, there are no major royal celebrations or ceremonies on the horizon, and with Harry and Meghan being asked to vacate their Frogmore Cottage home earlier this year, it is unknown when the next opportunity for fans to see the brothers united in public will arise.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more