Prince William is "still holding a grudge" against the Sussexes, expert claims

"This book is hanging over everyone's head."

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) and Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attend the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace, London on July 1, 2021, which would have been her 60th birthday. - Princes William and Harry set aside their differences on Thursday to unveil a new statue of their mother, Princess Diana, on what would have been her 60th birthday
(Image credit: Photo by Dominic Lipinski / Getty)

It sounds like there's still trouble in the House of Windsor.

The events around the Queen's funeral could have been an opportunity for the now-Waleses and the Sussexes to make up once and for all, but there was too much resentment among family members for it to make much of a difference in the end, one royal expert claims.

Speaking on the To Di For Daily podcast, hosted by Kinsey Schofield, biographer Christopher Andersen addressed the controversy about Prince Harry originally not being allowed to wear military uniform for funeral proceedings.

"In the very beginning, Harry was not allowed to wear his uniform — this was in the early days of the mourning period — but Andrew was and Edward was," Christopher said (via Express).

"So obviously, there was an outcry as a result of that. Charles flipped and allowed him [Harry] to wear his uniform at the vigil of the grandchildren. But it never looked to me as if the Sussexes were comfortable during the funeral — they could hardly wait to get out."

Somewhat dramatically, Christopher added: "And of course, I think William is still holding a huge grudge." 

In this case, he was referring to William feeling hurt over Harry and Meghan's decision to leave royal life and move to California.

As for the engagement both royal couples undertook together, a walkabout in Windsor following the Queen's death, Christopher doesn't think it was a true success.

"There was no connection," he said. "They were all going in different directions. I don’t think it’s going to end well."

He added: "If there ever was a chance for them to mend things, I suppose that was it. But then again, this book is hanging over everyone's head."

By "this book," Christopher means Harry's upcoming memoir, titled SPARE, which is set for release on 10 January. The book has been the subject of huge amounts of controversy in the months leading up to its publication, with royal insiders seeming concerned about what it could contain. 

As for the rest of us, we'll just have to wait till January to find out.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.