Prince William and Prince Harry received very different treatments while they were growing up.
During a recent interview, royal author Robert Lacey said that the royal systems dictated how Prince William and Prince Harry would be treated.
Since the Duke of Cambridge is an heir to the throne, he was treated with more kindness than Prince Harry, who is the spare.
Lacey also said that the Duke of Sussex follows in the tradition of Princess Margaret and Prince Andrew, who is also known as spares and number twos. The senior royals were reportedly treated harshly due to the royal system's logic that favors only the main bloodline.
When Prince Harry was born, he was just third in line to the throne. But as the royal family grew, he was pushed over outwards. Today, Prince Harry is sixth in line to the order of succession. And there’s a chance that he would be pushed back further down the line when Prince William and Kate Middleton have more children.
In the book Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand said that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle felt that they weren’t given as much importance as Prince William and Middleton.
After all, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were always the ones that got the first dibs on royal engagements and events because of Prince William’s future role in the monarchy.
While speaking with Good Morning America, Lacey also said that Prince Harry was a victim of certain cruelty from the royal family because he’s the spare. And this treatment, reportedly, gave Prince Harry long-standing resentment towards The Firm.
When Prince Harry was just a teenager, he already discovered that he was being typecast as the court jester or the number two. And as he got older, Prince Harry must have realized that this isn’t something that he can accept.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry also made headlines this week after he credited Markle for helping him become more aware of the unconscious racial bias that’s happening in the world.
During a video call with Patrick Hutchinson, Prince Harry admitted that he didn’t know what unconscious bias was because he grew up as a royal. But after living a day or week in Markle’s shoes, the Duke of Sussex finally realized what it was.
Prince Harry and Markle have also been praising each other during their video call appearances recently.