Prince Harry's bitter rift with Prince William 'triggered by brutal childhood comment'

Princess Diana's former butler Paul Burrell has claimed that Prince Harry's feelings of being "the spare" and the ensuing sibling rivalry with Prince William might have been triggered by something as simple as food during their younger years.

The former royal butler says that during William and Harry's childhood, William was favoured by their nanny, who opted to give special favours to the would-be King.

Burrell recalled a significant moment in Channel 5's documentary titled The Palace: What the Royal Servants Saw, saying: "I heard one of the nannies say to William, 'I'm going to give you three sausages, William. You need to grow big and strong, because you're going to be king one day'."

READ MORE: Royal Family's subtle shared detail convinces fans it's huge swipe at Prince Harry

READ MORE: Prince William gives emotional insight into how he's preparing Prince George to be King

The comment wasn't lost on a young Harry, as Burrell remembered, "Poor Harry's face across the table. I looked at him [and knew he was thinking] 'Why did you get three sausages and I got two?'"

Having started royal service as a Buckingham Palace footman at merely 18, before eventually serving Princess Diana for a decade, Burrell witnessed firsthand the inner workings between the brothers, observing: "I met both William and Harry in their early 20s, at a polo match, and chatted to them, and you could see that Harry always felt he was in second place."

Despite his deep-seated feelings of bitterness, Harry allegedly possessed a delightful, relaxed nature, according to the princes' former royal protection officer, Ken Wharfe, who considered him the more accessible of the pair. "Harry was the joker, people liked him," he said.

Royal biographer Robert Jobson also delved into the psyche of Prince Harry, suggesting there's more to him than meets the eye: "Even though he had this persona of being this happy-go-lucky guy that was well respected, the reality, I think, is that he always had a complex character. He was always struggling with the idea of the service, of having a public role."

Harry and Meghan Markle left behind their royal life in the UK in 2020, quitting their duties to the Firm and relocating to California. Since then, the rift between Harry and William has only widened, given the Sussexes seemingly endless spate of allegations against the royal family.

In 2021, Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an explosive tell-all interview about their experiences within the royal family, before also releasing a documentary series with Netflix the following year. In 2023, Harry continued to speak out against his family in his autobiography Spare, in which he spoke about William, Kate, Charles and Camilla in less than favourable terms.

Since then, it seems there has been no sign of a reconciliation between William and Harry, despite Harry's desire to mend the rift with his father King Charles. At Harry's own admission in an interview with the BBC in May, he admitted: "Some members of my family may never forgive me," referencing his public jabs against the Firm.

When Harry travelled to London for a whirlwind four-day trip in early September, the Mirror revealed that the Duke of Sussex would be likely to meet with his father, but there was no sign William would meet with his brother.

A US-based source said: "It's clear there is now a determination on both sides to make this happen. Nobody is pretending the wider family issues have been resolved, but this is about beginning with Charles and Harry. For the first time in a long time, there's a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach."

They continued: "After 20 months apart, and with the King continuing his treatment, the feeling is that the time is right to take that step. This is not about grand gestures or set-piece meetings - it’s about a simple face-to-face conversation between a father and his son.

"The priority is privacy and dignity, but also ensuring the door stays open for further dialogue. As for Harry and William, though, any chance of reconciliation between them has been rejected out of hand."

The Palace: What the Royal Servants Saw is on Channel 5 at 9pm.