Prince Harry and Prince William, the sons of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, were once inseparable and did plenty of things together. Even when Prince William got married to Kate Middleton, Prince Harry was the happy third wheel to their small unit.
Sometime before his engagement to Meghan Markle, however, Prince Harry apparently gave hints of a growing distance between him and his brother. Royal biographer Angela Levin wrote in her book "Harry: Conversations with the Prince" that he had plans early on to separate from Prince William.
Apparently, after Prince Harry, Prince William and Kate got together to launch Heads Together, a mental health initiative, the Duke of Sussex decided it would soon be time to do a different thing. He told Levin that since there is "nothing else in the pipeline" from the three of them, he will do something else but not with Prince William.
Then, Prince Harry apparently "lifted his eyes heavenwards" or rolled his eyes at the thought of Prince William. He also alluded that big brothers are tough to work with.
Whether he was joking about this fact or not, what was pretty clear was that Prince Harry did separate from Prince William and Kate soon after he got married to Meghan. He and his wife formed the Sussex Royal Foundation, with a different office and they also moved houses away from Kensington, where Prince William and his family stays.
Thus, Levin said that he was not surprised about the rumored rift between Prince Harry and Prince William. There were indications early on that they wanted to be on different paths.
Prince William has his destiny laid out for him long before he could decide for himself as the second in line to the throne after his father Prince Charles. Prince Harry, on the other hand, won't likely become king but he has to decide what he really wants to do as part of his royal duties.
Meanwhile, the royal brothers honored their dad for his 71st birthday with greetings on social media. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge posted a series of photos of Prince Charles with the family on their Kensington Royal Instagram. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, on the other hand, posted a more personal greeting by calling Prince Charles "Sir, Pa and Grandpa" for his birthday.
Prince Charles was abroad in India for his 71st birthday though and celebrated with some school children in Mumbai. Earlier, he also visited a holy temple and had a conference with local businessmen. His wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, was with him during his trip.
