It’s a world away from the relationship described in Prince Harry’s new memoir Spare in which he is highly critical of William and evendetails a violent outburst involving the brothers in the kitchen of the Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace in 2019.
Nicky Philipps, who would go on to paint Queen Elizabeth II, was commissioned by London’s National Portrait Gallery to paint the princes in their full military dress in 2009, describing how they were “great fun to be with” during the sittings together.
“They were just like how you would expect any two brothers to be,” Philipps told Newsweek. “There were moments when Harry would be a bit indiscreet and William would sort of give him a look. Then there were other moments when Harry appeared without some of his uniform done up because he had all these cross belts and gloves and everything else and William would help him. He was a bit shambolic and there was his older brother to help him get it right.”
The painting portrays Harry perched on the edge of a chair while William leans on a doorway with the brothers exchanging a look that appears to capture the close bond that existed between the pair.
It’s a bond Philipps saw firsthand. “They finished each other’s sentences. They were that close,” she said. Fast-forward more than a decade later, however, and she’s stunned at how Harry appears to have changed so much.
“I simply don’t recognize the person he’s become. I don’t recognize it. I can’t see it,” she said. “All I know is that I imagined they had fraternal rivalries because everybody does, as I did with my sister. Of course, you do. Sibling rivalry is classic, but they never showed any signs of that sort of aggression, aggressive bitterness.”
Philipps describes the brothers in a way that will mesh with many familiar with the siblings in their younger years.
“William was protective, which was actually lovely. Harry was a little bit more of the joker as everybody reported he was,” she said. “I think William was more circumspect. After all, they didn’t know me. Our conversations were very relaxed and fun.”
She said that description of Harry is far removed from the man she sees today. “I just don’t know who this person is that sits and preaches,” Philipps said.
The royal portrait artist had no plans to read Spare and was critical of Harry for “trashing our country” with his remarks.
“All I can interpret from everything that I’ve read is that he doesn’t appear to like being the younger brother and suffers from quite serious envy, which may or may not have been present when I was painting them. I don’t know,” she said.
“But whatever it was, was hidden behind a scar, certainly on the face of it. I’m afraid to say that I think that there is one person who is responsible for unpicking that scar and I think that’s probably all I should say…”
Asked if she could ever see a day when the two princes might once again pose for a portrait together, Philipps admits she does hold out a lot of hope for such a scenario with the ball firmly in Prince William’s court.
“It would be amazing of Prince William [to agree to it]. I just wouldn’t expect him to. I don’t know how he must be feeling. I think he is probably deeply unhappy about the whole thing. I wouldn’t wish to speculate whether he would want to do that. But it would be an extraordinary act of forgiveness if he did,” she said.
“He’s behaving in an exemplary way. I’m sure he’s dying to fight back. But they’re doing exactly the right thing and Harry’s the only one who’s going to be the loser, unfortunately.”
Philipps has been left saddened at what she views as a shift in Prince Harry’s personality in the time since she painted him and only hopes some semblance of the man she met still remains.
“He was really enjoying life and the army. He looked like a young guy having a good time,” she said. “I would be so happy if I could see a trace of the man I met who was fun and just amiable and sweet. Nothing like this person. I don’t know what has happened.”
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