A Complete Timeline Of William And Kate's Rift With Harry And Meghan

All mega-fans of the royal family know that Prince Harry and Prince William have been in a royal feud for quite some time now. This rift has existed since the winter of 2018, and it can be difficult to keep up with all that has happened. From tell-all interviews with Oprah Winfrey during which secrets were spilled, the splitting of joint charities, and documentaries pitting family members against one another, more and more fuel has been added to the fire — and, of course, we are fully invested. Since the feud began, the brothers have been reunited over family tragedies, including Prince Philip's funeral service and now, the queen's. 

If you're unclear about where this all began and why, allow us to break it down for you. Continue reading for the official timeline of William and Kate's rift with Harry and Meghan. 

Let's take a trip back to November 2018, shall we? Rumors started spreading that there was drama not between the brothers, but between Princess Catherine (Kate Middleton) and Meghan Markle. 

However, according to the Daily Mail, the feud began after footage seemed to show Markle trying to engage in a conversation with Prince William and the prince giving her the cold shoulder. Additionally, around this time, royal reporter Katie Nicholl confirmed that Prince Harry and Prince William were not getting along. A source shared with Nicholl that Harry allegedly told William that he was not actively including Markle in the family at the beginning of their relationship. 

"Harry felt William wasn't rolling out the red carpet for Meghan and told him so. They had a bit of a fallout, which was only resolved when Charles stepped in and asked William to make an effort," the source claimed (via Cosmopolitan). "That's when the Cambridges invited the Sussexes to spend Christmas with them."

Things began to get real by February 2019, after TLC began promoting a new documentary, "Kate vs. Meghan: Princesses at War?" In the documentary, TLC speculated on the relationship between Meghan Markle and Princess Catherine, basically pitting them against one another. In the film, reporter Kate Nicholl claimed that Prince William was very concerned about his brother's relationship with Markle and was worried they were moving too quickly, which didn't go over well with Prince Harry. "I think what was meant as well-intended brotherly advice just riled Harry. Harry is hugely protective of Meghan," Nicholl claimed. "He saw that as criticism. He interpreted that as his brother not really being behind this marriage, this union, and I don't think things have been quite right ever since."

As rumors of the feud between the royal brothers and their wives continued, it wasn't until March 2019 when royal filmmaker Nick Bullen confirmed to Fox News that the rift had nothing to do with Princess Catherine and Markle, and everything to do with Prince William and Prince Harry (via Cosmopolitan). "It's actually that William and Harry have had a rift," he said. "All brothers fall out. All families fall out. Their fallout at the moment is becoming public." On top of it all, People reported one month later that the brothers attended an Easter service and didn't speak at all, keeping their distance the entire time.

When May 2019 rolled around, things seemed like they were starting to turn around. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry officially welcomed their first child, baby Archie. The couple shared the news on their Instagram page and the world was beyond excited. However, fans of the royal family began to notice that Prince William and Princess Catherine waited eight hours to congratulate Prince Harry and Markle on social media about the birth of their son (via Insider), leading everyone to believe that the rift was still going strong. 

However, in June 2019, royal reporter Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight that ever since the birth of baby Archie, the brothers were rebuilding their relationship and spending more time together. "It's absolutely the case that the brothers did fall out," Nicholl said. "I was told by a very senior royal source that actually they weren't talking to each other at one point. I certainly think now that Archie is here, it has probably really helped to improve the relationship. William is over the moon that his brother is a dad." Sometimes all it takes is a cute baby to make things right. Or so we thought... 

Just when we thought things were getting better, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made the decision to split from the joint charity they shared with Prince William and Princess Catherine. In June 2019, Cosmopolitan reported that the Palace made a statement confirming the charity will go on without Prince Harry and Markle. The statement read, "The Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has today announced the conclusions of a review into its structure, and how it will best support Their Royal Highnesses with future charitable activity."

One month later, Prince William and Princess Catherine were seen at baby Archie's christening, but they did not look too happy to be there. Fans of the royal family were saying that Prince William looked "sour" in a group photo that was shared online (via Cosmopolitan). Additionally, a source told Us Weekly that supposedly, Prince William and Princess Catherine "weren't happy" about the christening being private. "William thinks his brother is going overboard keeping Archie out of the spotlight" and "blames Meghan," the source claimed. 

By August, the brothers seemed to have put aside their differences to honor their late mother, Princess Diana, on the anniversary of her death (via Cosmopolitan). 

In October 2019, Prince Harry basically admitted to the fact that there was a royal feud going on between him and his brother. In the ITV documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey," Harry opened up about what is going on between the two (via Cosmopolitan). "Part of this role and part of this job, and this family, being under the pressure that it's under, inevitably, you know, stuff happens," he said. "But look, we're brothers, we'll always be brothers. And we're certainly on different paths at the moment, but I'll always be there for him, as I know he'll always be there for me." 

He continued to discuss that although they aren't as close, the media tends to make things seem worse than they actually are. "We don't see each other as much as we used to because we're so busy, but you know, I love him dearly. The majority of this stuff [in the press] is created out of nothing, but you know, as brothers, you know, you have good days, you have bad days."

In November 2019, a source revealed to Us Weekly that the feud between the two royal brothers is "one of the main reasons" Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were skipping Christmas celebrations with the family.

In January 2020, Cosmopolitan reported that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were officially taking a step back from their senior duties in the royal family. In a post on Instagram, Prince Harry and Markle shared the news that they planned to become financially independent, which naturally caused chaos. A source told Us Weekly that Prince William was "incredibly hurt" and "blindsided" by the decision. "William is incredibly hurt, but at the same time, he has his own family to focus on and is trying to move forward with his life," the source claimed. A source told Us Weekly in June 2020 that Prince William was "so tired and done with the drama of it all," adding that "seeing Harry cut ties with virtually every aspect of his English life and identity is so hard to fathom."

Shortly after leaving their royal duties, Markle and Prince Harry signed a massive multimillion-dollar deal with Netflix in September 2020 to make TV shows, documentaries, and movies (via Cosmopolitan). Entertainment Tonight reported that Prince William and the rest of the royal family are unhappy that his brother and Markle are working with the same production company that created "The Crown," the Netflix show based on the lives of the royal family. 

In March 2021, things went downhill when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat down to talk with Oprah Winfrey, with the entire world watching. During the tell-all interview, the Sussexes openly discussed leaving the royal family, and Prince Harry briefly touched on the feud between him and his brother. "As I've said before, I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been to hell together. But we're on different paths," he said. "The relationship is 'space' at the moment, and time heals all things, hopefully" (via Cosmopolitan). 

A source told Us Weekly that Prince William and Princess Catherine were in "total shock" over the tell-all interview. "What shocked them the most was Meghan's suicidal thoughts and their quotes on a royal family member mentioning Archie's skin color. William and Kate knew about some of their troubles with palace aides, but nothing to this extent," the source revealed, adding that "William and Kate feel that these conversations could have been made in private."

In April 2021, amid Prince Philip's funeral, Cosmopolitan reported that things were still "extremely frosty" between the brothers. A source told the Mirror that Harry "wrote a deeply personal note to his dad to try and set things straight, but tensions are still running high and things haven't exactly ironed out the way he had hoped."

By the time July 2021 rolled around, things seemed to have taken a turn in the royal brothers' relationship. After they were reunited for the unveiling of their late mother's statue, a source revealed to Us Weekly that things went as smoothly as possible given the circumstances. "William and Harry spent the morning before the statue unveiling looking through old keepsakes, notes from Diana, and bonding," the source said. "They have absolutely turned a new page in their relationship and have started the healing. Everyone around them was thrilled to see how close they were on the day of the statue unveiling."

However, royal author Omid Scobie revealed to ET Online that there were "still feelings of anger" toward Harry and Meghan about the "way the couple carried out their departure from their royal lives," and that Will in particular "has not been able to come to terms" with the situation. Although they have made a few public interactions over the year, Scobie says that "the relationship between Harry and William is still very much one of distance. I don't just mean physical [distance], across the Atlantic, but they are not talking that much, and that is exactly how sources close to William have put it."

In January 2022, Prince Harry revealed his next endeavor: a memoir. Penguin Random House made the announcement that the book was set to be released in late 2022 (via Cosmopolitan), but after the queen's passing, it was pushed back to 2023. A source told Page Six that there is major speculation about why Prince Harry's book was pushed back in the first place. The source said "the big question" is whether Harry is "taking out anything potentially bad he wrote about [William, Charles, and Camilla] now? Who knows what will change. He would never write anything bad about the queen. He always has had the utmost love and respect for her." 

Although Harry has yet to speak on the new release date, he has previously said this is an opportunity to share his experience as a royal and "show that no matter where we come from, we have more in common than we think."

In April 2022, royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET Online that Harry wants to use a mediator to rebuild his relationship with his brother. "Harry, I'm told, suggested perhaps that they might get some sort of a mediator in on some of these talks, to make some progress. It was something that he had suggested to his father. He's made it very clear that he wants to sort things out. He wants things to be improved."

After the brothers attended the queen's Platinum Jubilee together in May 2022, royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Us Weekly that "the rift very definitely hasn't been healed," and that there was a lot of tension surrounding the release of Harry's memoir. "It will again be a source of very, very substantial discord. Whatever he writes, if it's published this year, it's going to cause problems," Fitzwilliams said. 

By June 2022, a source told the Daily Mail that Harry and William's relationship following the Jubilee was still at "rock bottom." "He alternates between grieving for what he has lost and feeling really, really angry about what his brother has done," says Prince William's friend. "He truly loves Harry and feels he has lost the only person, aside from his wife, who understood this strange life of theirs. But he believes there are things you just don't do. And Harry has 100% crossed that line."

According to The Sun in August 2022, Prince William and Princess Katherine were set to not see Prince Harry or Meghan Markle until the release of the memoir. According to the outlet, Prince William allegedly felt that he couldn't trust his brother to keep their conversations between themselves. 

After the passing of the queen, the brothers came together to pay their respects alongside Meghan Markle and Princess Catherine. A royal source told The U.S. Sun that Prince William asked Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to join them during the walkabout. "It was an important show of unity for the queen" during this difficult time for the royal family, the source said. 

The Sunday Times later reported that getting the brothers together "required extended negotiations beforehand, delaying their arrival by 45 minutes." So things may still be tense between the two. However, according to The Sun, this reunion was only a "temporary truce." Together, the group of four looked at tributes left for the queen outside of the Berkshire castle and collected flowers from the crowd. 

According to CNN, the late Queen Elizabeth II's eight grandchildren were set to stand vigil alongside her coffin in Westminister Hall on Saturday, September 17.