Revealed: The similarities between Princes William and Harry despite their rift… from their shared opinion on kilts, their devotion to fatherhood and love displayed for their wives
With only two years between them, Princes William and Harry were once the picture of one another.
Their mother, the late Princess Diana, enjoyed dressing them in matching outfits and even co-ordinated herself with them at times.
The boys were often seen in bright shorts and the same shirt, with the only marker of difference being William’s brown hair and Harry’s red mop.
Beyond looks, they later bonded over the turmoil of their parents’ divorce in 1996. Then, at just 15 and 12 years old, they lost their mother in 1997.
Harry lives over 5,000 miles away in America and the brothers no longer appear to speak. Yet, despite their ongoing alleged rift, William and Harry still seem to have a lot in common.
From their opinion on kilts, to their devotion to fatherhood and loved-up appearances with their wives, the princes remain remarkably similar.
Princes Harry and William during the unveiling of a statue they commissioned of Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in 2021
The two brothers wearing matching outfits with their mother in 1988
Neither William or Harry have been pictured wearing a kilt in their adult life, and they seem to have no intention to do so in the near future.
In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote: ‘So long as we weren’t wearing kilts, with that worrisome knife in your sock and that breeze up your a***, I was good.’
Similarly, one month before his 21st birthday in 2003, William admitted they felt ‘a bit draughty’.
The Mail reported how the prince said: ‘I have worn a kilt in private and I’m not saying I will never wear one in public. I haven’t got into it yet.’
Another tradition the pair seem to agree on is polo. The sport has been played heavily by the Royal Family since the Queen’s father King George VI, and both William and Harry have enjoyed it from a young age.
Harry played polo at Eton while William was on the water polo team. In their younger years, they played in several charity matches together including a game at Tedworth Polo Club in Wiltshire to raise money in 2002, and they still participate now.
The Duke of Sussex was photographed kissing his wife, Meghan Markle, after being presented with a trophy at the end of a match in Miami in April.
While William participated in a game in July in memory of the late Rugby League legend and MND campaigner Rob Burrow.
Harry and William taking part in a game at Tedworth Polo Club in Wiltshire to raise money for charity in 2002
William playing polo in memory of the late Rugby League legend and MND campaigner Rob Burrow in July
Meghan Markle congratulating her husband with a passionate kiss after he won a charity polo match in Miami back in April
Perhaps unintentionally, William dabbled in his brother’s new culture earlier this year when he played American football.
In October, the Prince of Wales tried his hand at the sport during an NFL event. He was even praised for his ‘cannon of an arm’ on social media after getting involved in a throwing drill.
It came just months after Harry listed the US as his primary residence for the first time.
Filings published by Companies House for ‘Prince Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex’ showed that his ‘New Country/State Usually Resident’ is now the USA. It was previously recorded as the UK.
Despite any ongoing disagreements, both William and Harry are still devoted to their mother and openly speak about her.
William recently honoured Diana in a new documentary, Prince William: We Can End Homelessness.
During the film, which featured poignant photos of William and his mother at the Passage homeless shelter in Westminster, the prince talked about how Diana first took him there when he was young.
He also mentioned Harry for what was thought to be the first time in six years, saying: ‘My mother took me to the Passage, she took Harry and I both there… I ‘d never been to anything like that before and I was a bit anxious as to what to expect.’
William showing off his sports skills while at an NFL event in London in October
Both young boys visit the Passage homeless shelter in 1993 with their mother
Harry honouring his mother through charity work with the Halo Trust earlier this year (left) and in 2019 (right)
Like his brother, Harry has also honoured his mother this year by giving an emotional speech at Halo Trust’s anti-landmine event in New York in September.
The charity gained international prominence in 1997 after Diana walked through an active minefield in Angola.
In his speech, he told the audience how ‘carrying on her legacy is a responsibility I take incredibly seriously’
He added: ‘And I think we all know how much she would want us to finish this particular job. We are all here because we are a band of true believers, fighting for a mine-free world.’
The brothers are also united in that they enjoy speaking about their beloved children. William has shared many heart-warming tales about his life as a parent recently.
And earlier this year, William and Kate shared a photo of Charlotte and Louis watching a Euros game in matching football shirts.
The two children were pictured sat together at home while their father and older brother Prince George, 11, attended the game.
However, family television time may not always be so peaceful in the Wales’s household. William joked during a BAFTA Bursary Fund event that his three children are ‘always wrestling over the remote’.
Princess Kate and Prince William with their children Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2023
Harry doesn’t shy away from talking about his children either. When the prince attended the WellChild Awards in London in September, he mentioned his son Archie and daughter Lilibet.
‘Archie and Lili have been blessed with their mother’s thick hair… it won’t be long until Lili can sit on hers,’ he said, according to one attendee.
When they’re not talking lovingly about being fathers, they are often seen gushing over their partners.
William especially has shown more physical affection towards Kate in public outings recently. In a rare romantic moment, their adoration for each other shone through in June during Trooping the Colour.
They stood with their children on Buckingham Palace’s balcony and shared a sweet glance as they smiled and gazed into each other’s eyes.
Both looked relaxed and happy to be back in front of the public again in what was Kate’s first official appearance this year.
Meanwhile, Harry puts on even more loved-up displays than his brother. He enjoyed a particularly PDA-packed tour of Colombia with Meghan Markle earlier this year.
Harry even kissed his wife’s head during a visit to Bogota’s Delia Zapata National Centre for the Arts on the first day of their visit.
The royal couple gaze lovingly at one another on Buckingham Palace’s balcony during Trooping the Colour earlier this year
Harry embracing his wife Meghan Markle during their tour of Colombia in August
The brothers also share links to Africa, and both visited separately earlier this year. Harry went on a solo trip to Johannesburg and Lesotho in October while William visited Cape Town in the following month for Earthshot Week.
Aside from engaging in charity work and other duties, William and Harry both enjoying letting loose and having some dare-devilish fun at times too.
It echoed his younger years, when the prince would ride his motorbike through London. Once dubbed the ‘Prince of Wheels’, William passed his full motorcycle test in 2002 at 19 years old, meaning he could upgrade from a 50cc to a 125cc engine.
In 2006, it was reported that the then 23-year-old prince was required to have minders with him when hitting the road on his 1100cc Honda Super Blackbird.
The now King sent one of his own senior bodyguards Ian McRae to shadow his son.
For William, the ability to remain anonymous under a dark helmet and full leather bodysuit while out and about was reportedly one of the things that attracted him to the hobby.
Harry seems to be no different when it comes to daredevil antics and earlier this year, he caught huge waves at a surf ranch in California.
The future King posing on a model motorbike during a visit to Ulster University’s Belfast City Campus in November
Professional surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer posted a video of Harry riding the waves. Riding alongside Van Bastolaer’s jet ski, Harry then pulls away as the wave begins to appear, before expertly leaping up on to the surfboard.
The Duke of Sussex finds his balance and, under the instruction of Van Bastolaer, adeptly negotiates the surging wave for almost a minute.
Aside from activities, Harry remains alike enough to his brother that he appeared to be mistaken as him at a charity event earlier this year.
He attended the annual One805Live! concert at Kevin Costner’s oceanside estate in California in September, where he briefly chatted to American singer Richard Marx and his wife Daisy Fuentes, with their conversation caught on camera.
Daisy posted a photo of the exchange between her husband and Harry to her 324,000 followers on social media and mistakenly tagged The Prince and Princess of Wales’s Instagram account.
They may not have the closest relationship at the moment, but the two brother’s can’t seem to escape one another.
