BBC/GQ/Instagram
One minute Prince Harry was on a GQ podcast declaring that he wanted to reconcile with the royals, the next his estranged brother Prince William had one-upped him with a surprise appearance on primetime UK TV.
The Prince of Wales shocked and delighted viewers by turning up on the popular Graham Norton Show on October 23 – where he was joined by A-listers Cate Blanchett, Robert Irwin and Hannah Waddingham as part of a special edition to mark the Earthshot Prize.
The appearance came just three days after Harry had opened up to GQ’s One More Question podcast, saying that “the most important thing is to reconcile” with King Charles and William.
Royal expert Tom Sykes – the man behind The Royalist substack – described William as having “celeb muscle” behind him during his TV foray, as he set his sights firmly on the monarchy’s future.
“It felt like a change of register… and a need to up his game frankly,” Sykes said of William’s TV appearance in a video shared to YouTube, adding that the prince’s commitment to the episode showed he was “not afraid” to be himself.
“You can’t actually do an hour faking it,” Sykes said. “You can only really do an hour if you are really comfortable with who you are and it’s just you just chatting…”
Royal commentator Paula Froelich claimed on The Royalist that William’s demeanor on TV was in stark contrast to appearances made by his brother Harry.
William appeared “more comfortable in his own skin” than his brother, Froelich claimed.
“He’s also much more comfortable with what he’s doing, with the products that he has, and obviously the team around him.”
“William’s become very good friends with a good number of big celebrities, including David and Victoria Beckham, Tom Cruise and Robert Irwin. He’s also built pretty chummy relationships with all sorts of other Hollywood types, including Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, so he’s pretty pleased with himself,” a source tells Woman’s Day.
“William would argue that this is nothing new, that the royal family has always had Hollywood connections, but he’s definitely taken things to another level in terms of how publicly he’s embracing that world.”
The insider went on to say that the prince had a “fantastic time” on the couch at Graham Norton and the feedback at the Palace has been positive, so more casual chats could be on the cards.
“Obviously, the main motivation is to build support for his charities, particularly Earthshot, and modernise the monarchy as a whole. But there’s also a certain satisfaction in showing Harry that he’s got him beat in the Hollywood popularity game,” the source says.
Harry, meanwhile, is said to be unimpressed with the turn of events – especially as he and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, deal with the fallout from shock allegations made against Meghan’s father Thomas Markle Snr.
“Harry’s always accused William of having a need to show him up, so no doubt he’s looking at all this and taking it as more proof of how petty his brother can be,” a source says.
