Royal Sibling Rivalry: Why Prince William and Prince Harry’s rift is nothing new

As the Prince Harry/Prince William revelations keep on coming, I have been most struck by the general public’s reaction to sibling rivalry in general. I have seen so many people on social media comment about the scraps - physical and mental - they have put their respective siblings through over the years.

Although the Prince Harry and Prince William sibling rivalry is the one that is dominating the headlines at present, it is easy to forget some more historic royal sibling rivalries and the commonalities they have with the two brothers today.

One such example is the relationship the late Queen had with her sister, Princess Margaret. Although the pair were known to be incredibly close, their relationship was not without its trials and tribulations. One cannot forget after all that Princess Margaret wasn’t allowed to marry Peter Townsend, as he had been divorced.

In an article in Vogue magazine about a look back at Elizabeth and Margaret’s relationship, it said: “Queen Elizabeth legally couldn’t approve of Margaret’s relationship with the older, divorced Peter Townsend due to her position in the Church of England. Meanwhile Margaret was said to struggle with her dropping order in the line of succession - and the decreased visibility that came with it.”

Does this all sound a little too familiar? Luckily for King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Harry, they were all allowed to marry either after divorcing someone themselves or marrying someone who has been divorced.

This was largely because since 2002, the Church of England has allowed the remarriage of divorced individuals in certain circumstances. This ultimately cleared the path for King Charles (then Prince Charles) to marry Camilla (then Camilla Parker-Bowles) in 2005.

If one was to go back a little further in royal history to the Queen’s father King George VI and his brother King Edward VIII, their relationship was fraught with bitter rivalry. King Edward VIII famously gave up the throne as he had fallen in love and wanted to marry a two time American divorcée, Wallis Simpson.

This decision by King Edward VIII resulted in a complete change to the line of British succession and left King George VI in a position he was not expecting to have to take on as the younger brother of the heir to the throne. He famously suffered from a stutter which was to become the subject of the iconic film, ‘The King’s Speech’ (which starred Colin Firth).

King George VI was known to be a shy and insecure man unlike his older brother As CNN reported, “talking in public was akin to torture, experts say, and in stark contrast to his brother, Edward, who was known for his ease in the public eye.”