Prince William’s cheeky jab about family: ‘They might not want to see you’

Prince William, the Prince of Wales, visits the 4 Regiment Army Air Corps (4AAC) at the Army Air Corps, in Wattisham, eastern England, on June 4, 2025. Photo / Arthur Edwards, AFP

Prince William has joked that families do not always want to see each other and can be a “mixed bag” amid his ongoing rift with his brother, Prince Harry.

The Prince of Wales made his first visit as Colonel-in-Chief to the UK’s Army Air Corps on Wednesday, dressed in camouflage military uniform, and chatted with soldiers on an airfield about the structure of their work-life balance and how regularly they were able to get home, per the Telegraph.

“Some of them might not want to see you that much,” William remarked. “It’s a mixed bag.”

It’s understood the brothers’ last communication was almost two years ago, when they briefly reunited for the late Queen’s funeral in London.

During his visit to the base, William watched on as the military personnel trained and also opened up about his own interest in boxing, describing how it can help with frustration: “It’s good to take it out on a punch bag.”

His cheeky nod to family drama comes just a month after Harry gave a no-holds-barred interview with the BBC, where he revealed the King no longer takes his calls, that he doesn’t know “how long he has left” amid his cancer battle, and then asked his family for “reconciliation”.

The interview was originally scheduled to last just 10 minutes but ended up running for half an hour as Harry opened up after a bruising court loss over his UK security provisions.

According to Hello’s royal editor, Emily Nash, the royal family was given only a “very brief” notice that the explosive interview was about to drop – and that it scuppered any hope of an olive branch being extended to the Sussexes.

“There was a very brief awareness-raising at the palace shortly before it broadcast,” she said.

“What was made clear all along is that the King didn’t feel he could have these conversations with his son because it would put him in a really difficult, and potentially unconstitutional, situation. He couldn’t be seen to intervene on his son’s behalf or get involved in government matters, his son is suing His Majesty’s government, you know he needed to stay right out of this situation.

“But once that had concluded, there was potentially a path to some kind of rapprochement, some kind of olive branch being offered. And I get the sense that that was the mood music, but that really quickly got switched off once the interview landed.