Royal brothers Prince Harry and Prince William are heading for a clash. Royal experts believe that the competition between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge, along with their wives, Duchess Meghan Markle, and Kate Middleton, will ramp up when the royal tours begin.
Prince Harry and Meghan are set to fly to South Africa, Angola and Malawi for two weeks in the fall, per an official palace statement. The Sussex couple will also be going on a working visit to Botswana.
These visits were at the requests of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Thus, they have deemed this a special and celebratory event.
Prince William and Kate, on the other hand, will make a historic visit to Pakistan around the same time. According to BBC, no royal family has visited this country in the Middle East in the last 13 years; thus, it is expected to be a special trip.
However, royal expert Kate Nicholl expressed that the timing of these royal tours could raise some clashes between the Sussex and the Cambridge couple as one royal visit could put the spotlight over the other. Nicholl said that the royal staff must coordinate well to avoid these clashes. Otherwise, it could ignite competition between the brothers and their wives.
"I think that's why where couriers can avoid diary clashes they will because they'll be keen to avoid any sense of competition between the couples," Nicholl told The Sun. "With two very busy working royal couples, inevitably they will be away doing tours and engagements and official duties that will at times clash in the diary."
Nicholl also pointed out that Buckingham Palace initiated to split Prince Harry and Prince William and their causes so that each can have its trajectory. However, it seems more challenging now for two offices to ensure that there will be no overshadowing each other.
As it is, the brothers are the subject of talks of an ongoing personal feud stemming from Prince William's hesitation towards Prince Harry's choice of a wife. The older brother expressed his concern for the relationship that was moving too fast. Prince Harry, on the other hand, felt bad that his brother hadn't made an effort to get to know his future wife before saying such a comment, according to Vanity Fair.
However, those disagreements seem to be water under the bridge now that Prince Harry and Meghan have a son, Archie Harrison. Recently, the Sussex royals celebrated the baptism of their son with a photo of the royal family.
