How Prince William and Kate Middleton Are Handling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Return: ‘They See It as a Sideshow’ (Exclusive)

Simon PerryTue, September 15, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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PeopleCredit: John Nacion/WireImage -

Prince William and Kate Middleton recently marked a major milestone while facing a new wrinkle in lingering family drama

Royal experts say William’s feud with brother Prince Harry has been “magnified” now that Harry and Meghan Markle have returned to the U.K.

“William and Catherine can maintain that their focus has to be about them and their family, but there will be pressure on them about how they interact with Harry and Meghan and their family in the future,” one royal expert tells PEOPLE

As rain fell on the cobbled schoolyard of Eton College on Sept. 8, Prince George emerged through the historic archway beneath 16th-century Lupton’s Tower, flanked by his parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton.

The 13-year-old prince, almost as tall as his mom, smiled broadly as he approached headmaster Simon Henderson and provost Sir Nicholas Coleridge. “Welcome. Good luck. Enjoy it,” Henderson told him.

George appeared ready for his new chapter. “He looked relaxed and happy,” royal author Simon Vigar tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.

It was a monumental moment for the couple: Their oldest child and the future king was leaving home for boarding school, changing the rhythm of the close-knit family William and Kate, both 44, have worked hard to protect.

Kate Middleton, Prince George and Prince William arrive for George’s first day at Eton College on Sept. 8, 2026Credit: Adrian DENNIS / POOL / AFP via Getty

But the milestone coincided with another new reality facing the Prince and Princess of Wales. Just a day earlier, a letter issued on behalf of King Charles, 77, reiterating that Prince Harry, 42, and Meghan Markle, 45, remain nonworking royals, had stirred fresh controversy following the couple’s return to Britain.

For William and Kate, it suddenly put an unresolved family rift that had largely played out from thousands of miles away back into focus.

“It’s been magnified,” says a palace insider. “When they were in California, and you gazed through the looking glass, you couldn’t see it so well, but it is right back in front of them.”

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This fall was already going to reshape life for the Wales family. Kate, in remission following her cancer treatment, is increasingly back on public duty, while at home she is adjusting to George no longer being at the breakfast table each morning.

Harry and Meghan’s unexpected return has added a complication they didn’t anticipate.

“William and Catherine can maintain that their focus has to be about them and their family, but there will be pressure on them about how they interact with Harry and Meghan and their family in the future,” says Russell Myers, author of William and Catherine.

Kate Middleton, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at Windsor Castle to view flowers and tributes to the late Queen Epizabeth on Sept. 10, 2022Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty

Harry and Meghan’s homecoming with Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 — who are settling into life at their new school outside London — comes amid fresh tensions with the royal family.

Charles and Harry have spoken at least once since the Sussexes’ Aug. 26 arrival but have not seen each other. Their last meeting was in July, when Harry, Meghan and their children joined the King and Queen Camilla at Highgrove.

The surprise letter issued on the King’s behalf has underscored the complications that remain.

“The King and William are completely united on the Sussexes not representing the royal family,” says Myers. “It’s without a doubt how in sync they are on this matter.”

Prince Harry, Prince Charles and Prince William attend a Requiem Mass for Hugh van Cutsem at Brentwood Cathedral on Sept. 11, 2013Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage

William and Harry, meanwhile, remain estranged, with no direct contact between the brothers, sources have told PEOPLE.

“William’s view is clear — any relationship his father has with Harry or the Sussexes as a family is entirely up to him,” says Myers. “But looking toward the future, he will have no relationship with them, in a working or private capacity whatsoever.”

Harry has made no secret of his desire to reconcile with his brother, but those close to William and Kate say the wounds behind the estrangement remain deep. “It was very hard on them, and I wouldn’t blame William for being cautious,” says one close palace source.

Adds royal historian Amanda Foreman: “At the moment, it has gone from being a hot war to a very, very cold war. But in a cold war situation you still have to turn up to the Olympics.”

For William and Kate, the approach is essentially the monarchy’s age-old mantra: “It is keep calm and carry on,” says Vigar, author of The Four Wives of Windsor. “They see it as a sideshow and ancient history.”

On Sept. 10, William and Kate displayed that approach, stepping out together as a united front in support of William’s suicide-prevention initiative amid a packed autumn schedule.

“They are shining a light on things that are important to them,” says Ailsa Anderson, the late Queen Elizabeth’s press secretary. “What they don’t want is all this other noise becoming a distraction.”

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With Harry and Meghan back in Britain, however, that noise may be harder to tune out.

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“It will be incredibly draining,” says Foreman. “They will always have to look over their shoulders and factor them in. And all they can do is deflect. Yet, they’ll get lots of jabs and questions: ‘When are you going to make up with your brother?’ ”

But amid the renewed focus on the family rift, the most immediate change in William and Kate’s day-to-day lives is more personal: For the first time, one of their children is living away from home.

“It’s not a drop-off—it’s a handover; it’s a massive transition,” says Melanie Sanderson, managing editor of The Good Schools Guide in the U.K.

Unlike on previous first days of school, George won’t simply be back home for tea. Eton’s early weeks are designed to immerse new boys in school life and help them bond with their housemates.

“Kate will miss him, of course,” says Foreman. “I suspect there will be lots of letter writing and having him back at weekends on exeats,” the designated breaks when students can return home.

When William arrived at Eton at 13 in 1995, he was accompanied by Charles, Princess Diana and Harry before a huge pack of media. George’s first day was deliberately more restrained, with Charlotte, 11, and Louis, 8, absent and media access tightly limited.

“His parents are changing things,” says Vigar. “This is another example of how the children are exposed, and it is minimized.”

After years of keeping George alongside his siblings in coed schools, William and Kate ultimately settled on William’s alma mater. Foreman calls the choice to send George to Eton a “flight to safety,” adding, “They had wanted a fresh look, but this is trusted, tried and true, and they know there will be absolute discretion. They don’t have to reinvent any protocols.”

There is poignant family history there too. Eton was a Spencer family tradition, and Diana pushed for William and Harry to attend. “It’s nice to think she’s had a little bit of influence over this one,” says Vigar.

Its proximity to Windsor Castle later allowed the brothers to spend time with their grandparents following Diana’s death in 1997.

Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Prince Harry look on as Prince William signs in on his first day of Eton College on Sept. 6, 1995Credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage

As George’s departure approached, William and Kate spent months preparing for the change. “The whole summer was geared around family time before, for the first time, they would spend a considerable amount of time apart,” says Myers.

There was the annual trip to Balmoral to see the King and plenty of outdoor activity at Anmer Hall, their Norfolk country home, including tennis and time along the coast. The family also stepped out together at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

That closeness carried particular weight after the upheaval of Kate’s illness. William and Kate have fiercely guarded their children’s lives away from the spotlight, particularly as the family navigated her 2024 cancer diagnosis and recovery.

William’s “overriding ambition is wanting his children to have as normal a life as possible when they are children,” says a friend. “He and [Kate] have been enormously successful with that.”

Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Prince Louis attend the 2026 Commonwealth Games at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on Aug. 1, 2026Credit: Karwai Tang/WireImage

As the Waleses enter a new stage, Harry and Meghan’s presence raises questions that are unlikely to disappear. “The royal family still don’t know what their motives are,” says a palace insider.

What is clear is that the Sussexes intend to build a life there: Harry wants Archie and Lilibet to know his roots and family, while both have work and charitable interests, and Meghan is exploring acting opportunities.

Nor will they be staying behind closed doors: Meghan was spotted at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire within days of the move and, on Sept. 13, offered a first glimpse of their new life in Britain, sharing video of the family walking in the countryside, splashing in puddles and warming by the fire.

Attention will inevitably turn to whether their paths might cross at Christmas at Sandringham or other family gatherings—and whether George, Charlotte and Louis might develop relationships with cousins Archie and Lilibet.

Prince George, Prince William, Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte and Kate Middleton join the royal family for the walk to Christmas Morninig service at Sandringham Church on Dec. 25, 2025Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

“It’s clearly incredibly difficult. The trust has broken down,” says Anderson. “Let’s hope it’s not broken completely, and there’s a chink in the armor on both sides and there could be some sort of reconciliation. But that’s not happening anytime soon.”

Vigar wonders whether next year’s 30th anniversary of Diana’s death could eventually provide an opportunity. “Diana would have hated all this and would have banged their heads together and wouldn’t have allowed [the rift] to happen,” he says.

For now, William and Kate are focused on moving their own family forward. When George comes back to the family’s Windsor home for his first weekend away from boarding school, he’ll be full of stories about his new life there, while Charlotte and Louis adjust to a different rhythm without their older brother there each day.

Kate, meanwhile, continues to underline how far she has come: After completing Britain’s Three Peaks challenge in June, she is increasingly active in public and may join William for his Earthshot Prize trip to Mumbai in November.

Amid all the change and noise, William and Kate’s appearance at Eton offered perhaps the simplest picture of where their focus remains. “They were the image of proud parents,” says Vigar, “as they have every right to be.”

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