A.N. Wilson: Why it’s in EVERYONE’s interests for William to be the bigger man – and bring Harry back into the royal fold

Isn’t it time for the royal feud to end? When Prince Harry arrived at a parish church in Norfolk last week for the memorial service for his uncle by marriage, Robert Fellowes, many in attendance were probably praying for a reconciliation between him and Prince William.

William left Snettisham Church without exchanging a word with his estranged younger brother.

He seems convinced that Harry is the black sheep of the family, for whom no forgiveness is possible. This is both deeply sad and disturbing.

The longer the feud lasts, the deeper and wider the divide becomes.

Rumor has it that William has said he will not even invite his brother to his coronation, if that day comes.

This would be disastrous for a myriad of reasons. There are indeed very serious consequences.

Many have vilified Meghan for years for refusing to speak to her poor, clumsy old father, who made a fool of himself before her wedding by posing for paparazzi photos.

William’s refusal to speak to his brother risks appearing equally petty. If William lets the feud fester, it will dominate every public occasion he attends. At family funerals. At ceremonies of national importance.

Instead of the public’s attention being focused on the ceremony, people will understandably be thinking about ‘The Feud’: questioning the body language between the two, studying the few – if any – words and looks exchanged.

Do we really want this? Is it not the duty of the Prince of Wales to come and forgive? Or at least to behave as if he has forgiven.

It was a wise man who wrote: ‘I kiss my son not because I love him, but to love him’. For ‘son’ read ‘brother’.

There is something very unseemly about a family feuding in public. When it involves the royal family, it poisons the air and undermines the institution of the monarchy.

Everything suggests that King Charles, especially in view of his cancer, is receiving spiritual advice from friends such as Richard Chartres, the former Bishop of London, who are encouraging him to build bridges with his youngest son.

Naturally, Charles would like to meet his American grandchildren and make friends with them.

He wouldn’t have to worry about leaving this world until he made peace with his ‘darling’ Harry.

For his part, as The Mail on Sunday reveals today, Harry has begun making overtures to explore ways to end his exile. Prince William appears to be the one standing in the way. Surely he has a duty to his father – if not his brother – to help, not hinder, such a rapprochement?

The reasons for the split are clear.

Harry wrote – or rather dictated to a clever ghostwriter – his deeply hurtful memoir Spare, in which he alleged that his brother William had been violent.

Unbearable things were said about Williams’ wife Catherine, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment.

Harry and Meghan even told the world, on the Oprah Winfrey show, that the royal family was racist, an insult that is deeply unfair. After all, the king, through projects like The Prince’s Trust, has done more to bring the people of this country together, regardless of colour or creed, than any other public figure.

It’s no wonder that William is still angry and indignant.

But as our future king, he must appear magnanimous, not mean. He must recall the example of the late queen, his grandmother, who put duty above personal feelings.

In 2012, she shook hands with former IRA commander Martin McGuinness, despite the IRA’s assassination of Prince Philip’s beloved uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in the interests of peace and reconciliation.

Could William shake his brother’s hand if it were offered to him? And there are hopeful signs that Harry is beginning to reach out.

As a kind of olive branch to his angry family, he has made it clear that – to the disappointment of his publishers – there will be no sequel to Spare and that he will not be updating the paperback edition with more venomous criticism.

There are even indications that Harry is prepared to drop his case against the Home Office over its “inadequate” security measures. And he and Meghan have both hinted through “friends” and “sources” that they are prepared to stop giving embarrassing TV and newspaper interviews. The rows over Meghan and the Royal Family are starting to look increasingly trivial – whether or not she threw tantrums, or whether they caused her to have a nervous breakdown. They and they have certainly moved on.

Another hopeful sign: Harry and Meghan recently went to Colombia, and many critics were ready to decry any ill-considered statements the couple would inevitably dare to make. In fact, they conducted themselves with decidedly royal propriety and discretion.

Then it was said that Meghan might embarrass the Foreign Office and the royal family by attending the Democratic Convention in Chicago. But she didn’t go.

Instead, she has indicated that she will limit her future public appearances to promoting the work of her fashion designer friends.

Is there a strategy behind Meghan’s newfound reticence? Why would a woman who was once so fond of political squabbling suddenly become silent?

Perhaps Harry and Meghan were slow to realize what their bread and butter is.

Now that their attempts to build a media empire have come to nothing and resulted in nothing more than a few jars of Meghan’s homemade jam, have they realised that without the House of Windsor they have little social and political clout?

Is that why Harry recently reconnected with some of his friends in the UK via WhatsApp?

Celebrating his 40th birthday in two weeks would be the ideal opportunity to rebuild bridges with lost allies.

Let’s hope that happens.

Both Harry and his brother are stubborn, but the longer the estrangement lasts, the more it seems as if William is the one holding the grudge.

Someone has to step in and change his mind.

Perhaps a younger member of the royal family – one of Princess Anne’s children, perhaps one of his friends, perhaps his wife – or perhaps all of them should beg him to change his mind.

Anyone who dares to confront Willem with this must be brave enough to ask: ‘What do you think your mother would want?’

Both princes will recall childhoods plagued by book deals and TV interviews in which their parents aired their grievances against each other. Surely they don’t want their ugly feud to continue to consume their families in front of the world?

It is in everyone’s best interest for William to bring Harry back into the fold.