Prince William + Prince Harry
Will the grief for Diana’s aunt bring the broken brothers together?
Prince William and Prince Harry
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Prince William and Prince Harry face yet another family loss. Her great-aunt Mary Roche passed away. The death of Princess Diana’s mother’s sister could bring the estranged siblings together sooner than expected.
It’s as if the veil of mourning has wrapped itself tightly around the British royal family. After saying goodbye to Prince Philip, † 99, in April 2021 and about a year later to Queen Elizabeth, † 96, who died in September 2022, Prince William, 40, and Prince Harry, 38, now have to bury another family member . On March 3, her great-aunt Mary Roche died at the age of 88.
Prince William and Prince Harry: Your great-aunt Mary (†) had a sense of misfortune
But will the siblings really stand together at her coffin and maybe even make peace? It would be possible. Mary was a pugnacious spirit, a woman with a moving history. That should have made a lasting impression on the two royals.
According to the “Daily Mail”, her grandmother’s sister Frances Shand Kydd, † 68, showed an almost uncanny sensitivity to her environment. When her niece Princess Diana, † 36, was supposed to walk down the aisle with today’s King Charles, 74, in 1981, the foreboding relatives did not let the worldwide enthusiasm catch them.
While others thought the bride was happy at the pre-wedding reception at Buckingham Palace, Mary felt the opposite. “I only remember that she was unhappy at this reception,” she is said to have said later. She knew the young woman very differently when she was a child – “very natural and tending to giggle, very funny”. Diana’s condition before her big day irritated the aunt. At the time, she was fully aware that the then twenty-year-old did not fit the 32-year-old heir to the throne, as she once explained.
Princess Diana († 36) chats with her maternal grandmother Ruth Fermoy († 84, right) and her aunt Mary Roche, who died on March 3, 2023 at the age of 88, at a charity event in London in June 1991.
© Press Association / Picture Alliance
“They were at very different stages of development,” she recalled. “Diana was young and had little life experience, while Prince Charles was already a great thinker. He read a lot. Maybe they were just different people.”
Mary Roche had an eventful life
The marriage ended in tears and a divorce. Diana’s death in 1997 rocked the family. But Mary was already familiar with tragedies. Her first ex-husband, Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry, † 59, was killed by the IRA in a 1984 bomb attack on a Brighton hotel.
Mary was married two more times after their separation in 1966. These two marriages also ended in divorce.
William and Harry united? Unlikely!
Her death will not leave her great-nephews William and Harry unmoved. The deceased had a close relationship with her mother. It is conceivable that the elder will be present at the funeral. But whether Harry will make his way from the USA to his home country for this occasion is questionable.
The Duke of Sussex and his wife Duchess Meghan, 41, are not expected to attend the coronation of King Charles in the UK until May 6 – and even that attendance is uncertain at this point. A spokesman for the two confirmed that they had received an official invitation to the historic event. But some factors would also argue against her presence at Westminster Abbey. Last but not least, Charles’ decision to withdraw the two’s right to use their British home Frogmore Cottage could be decisive for a rejection.
A reconciliation with William also seems to be a difficult task at this point. In his memoirs, Harry revealed the siblings’ relationship, which had apparently been strained since childhood. He also reported on a tough argument that ended with physical violence. The signs are noticeably bad for a reconciliation. Even a sad death in the family circle should not be able to bridge the gap between the brothers.
Source used: dailymail.co.uk