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A clip from a rare joint interview with Prince Harry and Prince William, recorded while both brothers were training to become helicopter pilots in 2009, has gone viral following an examination of the brothers' relationship in Harry's recent Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
An excerpt from the interview shows William defending his "modest" brother when an interviewer compared the siblings. It has been viewed over 200,000 times since being uploaded on Monday to the video-sharing social media platform TikTok by user livvzeegs.
The clip has won the praise of royal fans who have also commented on the current state of the brothers' relationship, described by Harry in 2021 as one of "space." In the recent Netflix docuseries, Harry also alleged that William screamed and shouted at him during a 2020 meeting at Sandringham House.
In the video, filmed at the Defence Helicopter Flying School at Royal Air Force Shawbury, in northwestern England, while William was training to become a search-and-rescue pilot for the RAF, and Harry as an attack helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps, an interviewer asked the younger royal:
"It's tough enough to do a course like this on your own [but] with the whole world watching and a high-achieving older brother watching, does it increase the pressure do you think?"
At this, William interjected and said: "I don't think that's quite fair. He's doing a fantastic job. He puts himself down but genuinely he is seriously well. I've spoken to his instructor and stuff like that, he's doing a fantastic job. So, yeah, he's just very modest about it but he's doing very well."
@livvzeegs William has always looked out for Harry especially when it came to the press #princewilliam #princeharry #britishroyalfamily ♬ original sound - Livvie
Commenters online have praised William for sticking up for his brother, with one user writing: "That's love true brotherly love."
"That's how it's done!" added another.
Several users wrote in the context of the brothers' relationship today as there is a reported royal rift born out of grievances that led Harry and wife Meghan Markle to leave the monarchy and move to the U.S. in 2020.
"Back when brothers were brothers. Their paths are so different now..." said one user, with another adding: "This makes me so sad 🥺hope the brothers get back together."
Reports of tensions between the royal princes came to a head in 2019 when Harry, in an interview during his royal tour of South Africa with Meghan, described the brothers as being on "different paths," a comment he would elaborate on with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 after stepping away from the royal family.
"As I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother," he told Winfrey.
"We've been through hell together. I mean, we have a shared experience. But...we're on different paths."
He continued to describe the relationship as one of "space at the moment. And, you know, time heals all things, hopefully."
The brothers reunited in public most recently to mourn Queen Elizabeth II in September, viewing floral tributes together at Windsor Castle as they had done at Kensington Palace 25 years before, following the death of their mother, Princess Diana.
Royal watchers hoping for a permanent rapprochement may have been disappointed when during the fifth episode of the Harry & Meghan series which was released on December 15, Harry described his terror at being screamed at by William at the "Sandringham summit," a meeting in which he discussed his and Meghan's future with the monarchy in January 2020.
"I went in with the same proposal that we'd already made publicly but once I got there I was given five options," he said. "One being all in, no change. Five being all out. I chose option three in the meeting. Half in, half out. Have our own jobs but also work in support of the queen. But it became very clear very quickly, that goal was not up for discussion or debate."
"It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren't true and my grandmother, you know, quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."
He continued: "The saddest part of it was the wedge created between myself and my brother so that he's now on the institution's side."
Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace have issued any comment on the Netflix series or about the claims made in it.
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