Prince Harry is feeling “torn” and regretful over losing the close bond he once shared with sister-in-law Kate Middleton, according to a royal expert.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, and his wife, Meghan Markle, have reached out to the Princess of Wales, 42, following the news of her cancer diagnosis.
And according to author Tom Quinn, Harry “really misses” the friendship he and Middleton once shared.
“[Harry] really misses that warm, uncomplicated relationship, and he is torn between loyalty to his wife and regret about the loss of the woman he was so close to,” Quinn told the Mirror.
“Losing Kate was Harry’s second great loss after losing his mother.”
However, Quinn claims that the Duchess of Sussex does not share her husband’s sentiment when it comes to her sister-in-law.
“Meghan doesn’t feel guilty about Kate, because she feels that Kate should’ve been the one person in the royal family to back her against every difficulty,” Quinn shared.
“Apart from anything else, Meghan knew Kate was an outsider, so she just couldn’t understand why Kate always towed the royal line rather than supporting her, Meghan, the other outsider.”
“Kate’s cancer diagnosis has been a real shock for Meghan, but she can see no way to patch up the relationship simply because it has become so poisonous,” the “Kensington Palace: An Intimate Memoir from Queen Mary to Meghan Markle” author continued.
“She also doesn’t want people saying that she is trying to make things up with Kate just because Kate is ill,” he said, adding that the mom of two “still feels Kate was in the wrong and should apologize before they try to build bridges.”
It was reported last week that Harry had found himself in a “painful place” following Middleton’s cancer news, especially after making so many revelations about his estranged family in his bombshell 2023 memoir, “Spare.”
“When you do discover that your sister-in-law has cancer and you’ve written stuff that can’t be retracted, that’s quite a painful place to be in,” royal expert Tessa Dunlop told Us Weekly. “I’m not saying it isn’t.”
Dunlop said that the criticisms made in past years by Harry and Markle of the royal family have aged badly now that both the Princess of Wales, 42, and King Charles III, 75, are battling cancer.
Following the release of “Spare,” it was said that Middleton was taken aback by the attacks against her and other royals in the book and was not looking to forgive Harry and Meghan for their “public betrayal.”
Royal experts at the time said that Harry “will come to regret” the comments he made about his family.