Literally minutes after Queen Elizabeth II passed away, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace were already briefing against each other and against the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In the 36 hours following QEII’s death, the blaring headlines in the UK were about how King Charles’s first acts as sovereign were to order Prince Harry to leave Meghan in Windsor because she would be “unwelcome” at Balmoral, and then both palaces briefed against the Sussexes for wanting to be together for the death of Harry’s beloved grandmother. Those headlines only stopped when William began briefing the media about how he alone decided to reach out to Harry to do a walkabout in Windsor. The leaks and briefings have continued unabated throughout this whole “mourning period.” I strongly suspect that most of the leaks are coming from messy Peggington himself. Speaking of, Roya Nikkah at the Sunday Times had a lengthy piece about William and Harry’s “frosty truce.” Some highlights:

No cups of tea: Behind the scenes, those close to the brothers confirm there has been “no meaningful rapprochement” despite the pair seeing more of each other over the past week than in the two-and-half years since the Sussexes departed these shores. Both joined the royal family at a Buckingham Palace dinner on Tuesday night after the Queen’s coffin returned to the capital, but it is understood there have been no cups of tea at their neighbouring Windsor homes and the lines of communication have been mostly through their aides.

A brief encounter: On Thursday, they shared a brief chance encounter away from the public gaze on Harry’s 38th birthday, as William, 40, returned to Windsor after collecting Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis from school. Harry and Meghan, 41, were in their car and the brothers drove past each other but then stopped, reversed, wound down their windows and chatted for a while.

Awkward moments: A friend of the brothers who was well-placed as events unfolded in recent days, told of the reality: “The joint appearances take effort. There was an understanding that ‘we need to show solidarity’ not just ‘we need to do this because it’s our duty’. But I don’t think it goes much beyond that. There have been some awkward moments this week. I definitely don’t get the sense of any deeper meaningful rapprochement or a sense that this is it, things will be mended.” A source close to Harry agrees that being in each other’s company has at times been “uncomfortable” and “difficult” for the brothers but “everybody is trying their best”.

Harry’s book: Its publication date is unclear, and sources close to Harry will not confirm reports it will be delayed, but those close him insist the memoir is “not as vilifying” as many people expect: “I think people forget he’s had a whole life and do him a disservice to assume he’ll only talk about the past few years.”

LMAO: When Harry’s book and the Sussexes’ documentary finally emerge, if their experiences of this historic past week feature alongside their past grievances, William and Harry’s relationship will fracture further. A friend of both brothers says: “We know there are other things that will come out in the future that will be very damaging.”

William is keen to focus on QEII, which is why he’s briefing against Harry: Sources close to William say he is “solely focused on doing what is right to honour the Queen”. While he understands the public fascination with him and his brother, he is “processing his grief and the death of his grandmother, rather than sitting there processing his relationship with Harry”. William has been adamant since his grandmother’s death that nothing — particularly not sibling discord — should detract from the royal family’s and the nation’s tributes to the Queen. “That weighs on him a lot, he doesn’t want that,” says a friend. It is a view shared by Harry, who last week told a friend: “People need to just stop talking about all this stuff and focus on my grandmother.”

What is this bizarre quote? A friend of the Sussexes says: “They are very sensitive to how everything is happening and very much see the bigger picture, not just from a personal point of view but from the family’s point of view. Meghan is not afraid of throwing in a hand grenade here and there, but there are no toys being thrown out of the pram now. Their view is ‘Lets get on and do it — we’ll be where we need to be and we won’t be where we don’t need to be’.”

On the rescinded invitation to Sunday’s reception: A friend of the Sussexes said: “It is beyond bonkers if they’re not there. Everyone is coming in from around the world to pay their respects to the Queen.” A source close to the Sussexes says those kind of decisions, together with the Palace’s initial edict that Harry could not wear military uniform at the vigil, which was subsequently overturned, make him feel as if “the majority of the operation is against you — it’s hard, nobody likes to feel like they’re being excluded”.

Harry is very happy in California: Friends of Harry’s say that while the brotherly bond is not yet healing, “he could not be happier or more fulfilled by his family dynamic now” with Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet. But those close to him concede that his return to the UK and the royal family fold, however complicated, brings a twinge of “regret over a missed opportunity of what could have been” and a feeling that “it didn’t have to be this ugly”.

[From The Times]

A friend of both brothers says: “We know there are other things that will come out in the future that will be very damaging.” F–k around and find out. It sounds like William knows he did deplorable things to Harry and Meghan and he’s worried that all of it will eventually come out. Which is exactly what it is. As for the quotes sourced from a “friend of the Sussexes,” it sounds like (as always) it’s just someone in William’s camp, or a former friend of Harry’s. I doubt the Sussexes were surprised (at all) at all of the big snubs and disgraceful decisions from William and Charles. All Peggington and Chuck are doing is showing the world why Harry and Meghan had every right to leave.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.