King Charles Receives Powerful Advice From Prince George’s Godmother on Prince William and Harry’s Feud
King Charles has been given a potentially important message about Prince William and Prince Harry’s bitter feud by Prince George’s godmother Julia Samuel that forcing the brothers to reconcile could make their relationship even worse.
The renowned psychotherapist has offered her perspective in a moving essay about adult siblings who become estranged, addressing the difficult position parents can find themselves in when their children stop speaking to one another.
Samuel, who remains connected to the royal family through her friendship with Diana and her role as George’s godmother, explored the emotional challenges of family divisions in an essay published on her Therapy Works Substack.
Titled “What happens to you as a parent when your adult children no longer speak to each other?”, the piece examines the helplessness and emotional pain parents can experience when their grown-up children become estranged.
“The pain of sibling estrangement can be profound. You may feel caught between your children, helpless to repair the divide and question what you could have done differently,” she wrote.
Samuel explained that parents often feel an instinctive need to bring their children back together, particularly when family relationships have broken down over time.
However, she cautioned that attempts to intervene can sometimes make the situation more difficult rather than resolve it.
“Our instinct is to bring them back together. People often say ‘bang their heads together’, yet our attempts to help can sometimes deepen the hurt,” she explained.
Her advice was particularly clear when she suggested that parents sometimes need to step back and allow their adult children to work through their differences independently.
“Sometimes, love requires us to stand back, give them space to resolve issues in their own time,” Samuel added.
The psychotherapist also outlined five ways parents can encourage genuine repair: resisting the urge to become a mediator, listening without taking sides, recognising the importance of time, acknowledging their own grief and accepting the limits of their control.
Her observations may resonate with King Charles, who has witnessed the prolonged estrangement between William and Harry, although Samuel did not identify the royal brothers or directly address the King’s circumstances in her essay.
Samuel has a longstanding connection with the Royal Family through her close friendship with Princess Diana, whom she first met at a dinner in 1987.
The pair developed a close relationship over the years, with Diana becoming godmother to Samuel’s son, Benjamin, and even helping with school runs for her children.
Samuel also became godmother to Prince George, maintaining a connection with the next generation of the royal family.
Beyond her personal royal connections, she founded Child Bereavement UK, an organisation supporting children who have lost loved ones and parents who have experienced the death of a child.
She is also the author of Grief Works and This Too Shall Pass, drawing on her professional experience to explore grief, relationships and emotional recovery.
Her latest reflections offer a different perspective on the William and Harry situation: rather than pushing for an immediate reunion, allowing time and space may be more helpful.
For King Charles, the message highlights the difficult balance between hoping for family unity and recognising that reconciliation between adult siblings cannot simply be ordered or forced.
