ITV viewers have expressed their sadness over Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship after seeing their closeness in new documentary The Day Will and Kate Got Married.
The programme, which aired last night and marked 10 years since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s big day in Westminster Abbey, showed the brothers smiling at one another as they made their way to the altar ahead of Kate’s arrival.
It comes after the warring princes are said to have spoken by telephone following Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, but friends of the LA-based couple said the conversation was ‘not productive’.
Yesterday it emerged William has reportedly ended his two-decade friendship with ITV’s Tom Bradby, annoyed that he sided with Harry and Meghan in the increasingly bitter transatlantic war of the Windsors.
The airing of clips from William and Kate’s wedding brought back ‘happier’ times among the Royal Family, viewers said last night.
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ITV viewers have expressed their sadness over Prince William and Prince Harry’s relationship after seeing their closeness in new documentary The Day Will and Kate Got Married (above)
The programme, which aired last night and marked 10 years since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s big day in Westminster Abbey, showed the brothers (above) smiling at one another as they made their way to the altar ahead of Kate’s arrival
Prince William, left, Prince Charles, second left, Prince Harry, third left, the Duchess of Cornwall, third right, the Duchess of Cambridge, second right, and the Duchess of Sussex, right, depart Westminster Abbey after attending the annual Commonwealth Service in London on March 9, 2020
One person wrote on Twitter: ‘Sad watching William and Harry. They were so close and now barely speaking, #thedaywillandkategotmarried.’
Another said: ‘That wedding was lovely and they have remained a much loved couple. Also Harry seemed happy in those days. #thedaywillandkategotmarried’
But a third insisted: ‘Ultimately it suits both couples the way things have turned out. They no longer have to compete in that hierarchical institution.’
Speaking on the programme, Katie Nicholl, a royal correspondent based in London, said: ‘[William and Harry] were incredibly popular.
Reaction: The airing of clips from William and Kate’s wedding brought back ‘happier’ times among the royal family, viewers said
‘They were the sons that we had seen grow up without a mother, who’d walked behind her coffin, that memory was very much etched on the nation’s heart and in its memory.’
Royal historian and author Robert Lacey added: ‘The wedding of William and Kate really completed a rather dramatic turnaround that the monarchy had made since the dark days of the 1990s, the “annus horribilis”, the death of Diana.
‘The rebirth of the monarchy did literally happen through these two boys and William’s love and marriage to Kate was part of that.’
During his explosive tell-all with Oprah, Harry hinted at the extent of the alleged rift between the two brothers, claiming that their relationship was now ‘space’, but added he hoped time would be a healer.
It comes after the warring princes (pictured at the royal wedding) are said to have spoken by telephone following Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, but friends of the LA-based couple said the conversation was ‘not productive’
Prince William and Kate leave Westminster Abbey following their Royal Wedding on April 29, 2011 in London
He went on to claim he was ‘on different paths’ to William, saying: ‘I love William to bits, he’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together, we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.’
Following the interview, CBS presenter Gayle King claimed she had spoken to the Sussexes who told her that Harry had talked to the Duke of Cambridge and Prince of Wales after its airing – but she said the conversations were ‘not productive’.
The Duke of Cambridge was the first royal to personally respond to the tell-all days after the interview aired when he spoke about mental health during a visit the School21 in east London.
At the time, he revealed that he had not spoken to his brother since it came out, but added that he ‘will do’.
Yesterday a royal insider revealed William’s friendship with ITV News at 10 host Tom Bradby is another casualty of the fall out, telling MailOnline: ‘The friendship between William and Tom is very much over. The Duke feels let down by Bradby and the way he’s acted over the past few months.
‘William is a sensitive soul and believes it’s in times of crisis when you find out who your true friends are. It would be fair to say Bradby hasn’t been one of them.’
Among senior royal aides, there is growing anger at the way Bradby and ITV News seem to have become a mouthpiece for Harry and Meghan’s gripes about the Royal Family.
Bradby, 54, was host of an ITV documentary filmed in South Africa in 2019 when Meghan, in a swipe at her new family, moaned: ‘Not many people have asked if I’m okay. It’s a very real thing to go through behind the scenes…it has really been a struggle.’
Harry also used Bradby’s documentary to publicly confirm a feud with his brother, admitting that he and William were ‘on different paths at the moment’.
More recently, Bradby is believed to have been central to ITV being granted the rights to broadcast Oprah Winfrey’s incendiary interview with the pair, where they lobbed a number of grenade-like allegations at the monarchy, including claims a senior royal had made racist comments about their future child’s skin colour.
The Duke of Cambridge was once so close with Tom Bradby that he was chosen to conduct the November 2010 engagement exclusive interview with him and Kate Middleton
Bradby hosted an ITV documentary in South Africa in 2019 which Harry used to publicly confirm a feud with his brother
The royal source said: ‘Some staff at the Palaces are even angrier about Bradby and the tone of his reporting at ITV News, which they consider to be pro-Harry and Meghan.
‘It’s well-known Bradby personally communicates with Harry on a regular basis and that is pretty obvious to royal aides who know how things work.
‘But it’s been very difficult to accept given the long history between Bradby and William.’
William was once so close with Bradby that he was chosen to conduct the November 2010 engagement exclusive interview with him and Kate. Bradby went on to attend the nuptials at Westminster Abbey as a guest.
A spokesman for William at the time said: ‘The couple asked to record this interview specifically with Mr Bradby, whom they have both known for some time.’