Why for Prince William nothing is as important as The Firm, not even Prince Harry

(Image credit: Daniel LEAL - WPA Pool/Getty Images and Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Future)

published 20 August 2022

The Channel 4 docuseries 'The Real Windsors: A Very Modern Prince?' has shone a new light on the royal sibling's feud.

The ongoing feud between Prince William and Prince Harry has been well documented since Harry stepped down from the royal family and moved to America in 2020.
Now, it has been claimed that Prince William 'made a conscious choice' to choose his duty as a royal over his relationship with Prince Harry
In other royal news, Harry and Meghan are to be ’shunted down the ladder’ while planning a visit with the Queen during their September trip to the UK

The ongoing rift between the future King, Prince William, and his younger brother, Prince Harry, has divided not only the royal siblings, but fans of the entire royal family. Deciding who to believe, who to sympathise with, who to follow on Instagram - following the feud appears to be a full time hobby.

Yet another new light has been shone onto the feud, this time by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, William and Harry’s first private secretary who joined the ranks in 2005 and has worked side-by-side with William for years.

According to Lowther-Pinkerton, Prince William made a conscious decision to put The Firm before family, seeing his commitment to his duty as more important than his commitment to his brother.

In a Channel 4 docuseries called The Real Windsors: A Very Modern Prince?, and as reported by The Sun, Lowther-Pinkerton says William will always put the interests of the monarchy before his relationship with his brother. He also added that there are many examples of William opting to take “the more difficult route” in order to do the honourable thing.

Image 1 of 1

“He has made a conscious decision that duty comes first,” Lowther-Pinkerton says in the docuseries. “Prince William is very analytical and asks all the questions. And makes sure that he’s clear what you’re asking him to do. His sort of moral compass is set absolutely rigidly due north. He has the clearest understanding of almost anybody I know of what is right and what is wrong, and he won’t waiver from it, even if it means he’s going to take a hit.”

The former aide also added, “There are many examples of when I worked for him [William] where it would have been very easy to take one route,” he says. “But it wouldn’t have been the honourable or the right thing to do, so he took the more difficult route.”

Royal expert Katie Nicholl also appears on the docuseries, and says “I think William had to park being a loving brother who was absolutely his brother’s number one fan to put on a different hat. It was putting the future of the Firm and the best interests of the monarchy before himself and before his brother and before their relationship.”

A post shared by Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@dukeandduchessofcambridge)
A photo posted by on

Royal history buffs, and viewers of Netflix's The Crown, will remember that The Queen was at one point in a similar position to Prince William, being forced to choose the Firm over her own sibling. When her younger sister, Princess Margaret, expressed desire to marry Peter Townsend, The Queen had to break her sister's heart and risk losing her by denying them the right to marry - as a divorcee, he was deemed inappropriate by The Firm.

This comparison is reportedly poignant for Prince William, who looks up to The Queen as a role model. “He’s inevitably drawn a lot from the example that she’s given over the years,” Lowther-Pinkerton says of William’s love for his grandmother.

“He’s got some great role models there. In a way, he’s lucky because he sits at the bottom of the pile in terms of the generational way of looking at it. And he can sort of look at those generations and draw on them. The monarchy has always changed, it’s always evolved—each generation will do things slightly differently, there’ll be lots of common themes. That’s why it’s an evolution, not a revolution.”

Related articles:

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.