Diana Legacy Awards: Prince Harry follows Prince William in honouring mother Princess Diana - but royal brothers keep their distance

Prince William and Prince Harry both paid tribute to their late mother at last night's Diana Legacy Awards in London, but the reportedly feuding royal pair avoided an awkward run-in in the process.

Prince William attended the event, held at the Science Museum in London, in person to mark the charity's 25th anniversary, with the award taking place every two years since 2018 to celebrate the achievements of young people. His brother Harry also addressed the audience gathered at the museum but via a live video link, meaning that the warring brothers avoided each other for the night.

In the video which concluded the ceremony, Harry said: “Thank you very much for inspiring so many others and at the same time protecting my mother’s legacy, I really appreciate that. And Tessy (Ojo, chief executive of the Diana Award), again, well done on this fantastic group of individuals.”

It comes amid rumours of a major rift in the royal family, particularly between the two once-close brothers. According to reports, the Duke of Sussex did not meet Prince William during his fleeting visit to his father after it was announced that The King had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment.

Harry shed some light on the situation during an interview with an American news channel, when he said that King Charles's condition could "reunify" the family. He added that "any illness brings families together".

Prince William also paid tribute to his mother and celebrated the winners on the night during his appearance at the awards. He told the audience: “This evening’s Legacy Award is particularly special as it marks the 25th anniversary year of The Diana Award, a charity set up to reflect my mother’s belief that young people can change the world. I know that she would have been honoured to see a charity in her name doing such inspirational work to uplift young people from all corners of the globe.”

William also made reference to his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, amid wild speculation following the infamous altered Mother's Day photograph. He said: “That legacy is something that both Catherine and I have sought to focus on through our work, as have the 50,000 young people who have received a Diana Award over the past 25 years. I am so proud to see this belief of my mother’s manifested in the amazing young people receiving the Legacy Award tonight.”

He added that he was "blown away" by the work of award winners. The winners included Chiara Riyanti Hutapea Zhang, 18, who won an award for her charity Cases 4 Care’s work with undocumented children and Joel Nkeonye Mordi, 26, who won an award for founding a LGBT+ youth charity in Nigeria.