It’s been long thought that tension between the brothers was sparked by William reportedly urging Harry not to rush into marrying future wife, Meghan Markle.
But speaking to New Idea, the author of 1992’s Diana, Her True Story believes William’s intention was not to offend Harry.
“When William said to Harry, ‘take as much time as you like’, that is based on the new protocol inside the royal family that allows a royal prince to test the waters so they don’t have the calamities they had in the past,” explains the veteran royal watcher.
But while Harry immediately took offence at William’s interference, Andrew believes William was trying to encourage Harry to live with Meghan for an extended period before marrying, in what he calls a “test marriage”.
“It’s how the royal family now behave,” he explains. “William lived with Kate with the Queen’s permission. Harry could have lived with Meghan with the Queen’s permission.”
Andrew continues: “It’s significant that [William and Kate] were like an old married couple before they were married.
“They’d been living together with the Queen’s permission in a test marriage.”
Andrew’s comments came after William recently spoke about his inspiration for being more proactive about the environment.
Speaking on the Pod Save the Queen podcast, Daily Mirror royal editor Russell Myers recalled how William labelled Sir David Attenborough as his “single biggest influence”.
“[Prince William] is really putting himself out there – he’s saying ‘I’m a keen environmentalist’,” Russell said, referring to the Duke’s latest green efforts.
“We saw in the recent ITV documentary he had said Sir David Attenborough was his single biggest influence on his conservation ideals and views about climate change.
“I’m not too sure how happy his father will be about him saying that, but we all love David Attenborough, so maybe he will let him off?” he added.