Prince Harry recently celebrated his 40th birthday. The Duke reportedly had quiet celebrations with his closest family and friends, and though his feud with the Royal Family remains very much a matter of speculation, for the big day at least there appeared to be a ceasefire.

King Charles and Queen Camilla’s and Prince William and Kate Middleton’s social media accounts sent their best birthday wishes to Harry, to the surprise of many royal fans. One royal expert suggested that it was possibly Kate, the Princess of Wales, who “persuaded” Prince William to send his little brother regards to mark the occasion.

It’s said that Harry and Kate used to have a great relationship, though that’s certainly no longer the case. In the past the two appeared to share something of a bond, with the estranged prince even terming her the “sister he never had.“

Of course, birthdays are always occasions to celebrate, and it’s apparently no different where the Royal Family are concerned. Yet back when Harry turned 30, he reportedly decided to call off his birthday plans for one very emotional reason… and it had to do with Kate Middleton.

Prince Harry’s relationship with the Royal Family went swirling down the drain the minute he and Meghan Markle decided to speak out in their infamous Oprah Winfrey interview of 2021. The couple’s Netflix series and Harry’s memoir, Spare, only compounded the differences between the two parties, and today it seems as if any potential reconciliation is light years away.

Prince Harry & Kate Middleton

Sadly, it’s not only Harry’s relationship with his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, that have been ruined. No, his once-strong bond with Kate Middleton also lies in tatters.

When William met Kate Middleton while studying at university and ultimately decided to embark upon a serious romance with her, she and Harry developed a great relationship.

In Spare, Harry didn’t only write about the negative things he felt he had experienced during his time as a working royal, but also some great moments of his life. Some of those included Kate Middleton; he even reminisced about their first time meeting.

“I liked his new girlfriend. She was carefree, sweet, kind. She’d done a gap year in Florence, knew about photography, art. And clothes. She loved clothes,” Harry recalled.

He went on to praise her humor, explaining that he “liked seeing Kate laugh.”

“Better yet, I liked making her laugh,” Harry added. “And I was quite good at it. My transparently silly side connected with her heavily disguised silly side.”

Harry and Kate were a great match, and one can only imagine that Prince William was relieved that his little brother and girlfriend got along so well. Moreover, Harry praised Kate’s character in his book, writing that she was a “good match” for her brother.

“I loved my new sister-in-law,” Harry wrote. “I felt she was more sister than in-law, the sister I’ve never had and always wanted, and I was pleased that she’d forever be standing by Willy’s side. She was a good match for my older brother. They made each other visibly happy, and therefore I was happy too.”

Today, the relationship between Harry and Kate has soured. Meghan Markle and Kate’s relationship is reportedly even worse, but some figures still claim that the Princess of Wales might be the key to some sort of reconciliation between the Sussexes and the monarchy in the long run.

“They had a special bond”

That said, royal expert Christopher Andersen told Fox that while Harry and Kate were once close, she won’t be the one forging any peace talks between he and William.

“Kate was close to Harry, true,” Andersen said. “They had a special bond. They shared the same goofy sense of humor and laughed at the same jokes. Harry often said Kate was the sister he never had. Of course, Kate would like nothing better than to have the brothers kiss and make up. It would be one less cloud hanging over the royal family’s head.”

“But above all else, Kate is loyal to her husband,” Andersen went on. “She understands completely why William is still fuming. Kate is not about to pressure William while he has so much on his plate, notably her cancer and the king’s cancer battle as well.”

Andersen continued: “The last time Harry was at Balmoral Castle was in September 2022, when his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, died there. His absence from Balmoral this summer is just one more sign that the royal family – Kate included – prefer to have Harry out of sight and out of mind for the time being.”

The royal expert concluded by saying that Kate had made an effort to get the brothers to make amends in the beginning.

“One of the most poignant scenes in this whole saga was during Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021, when Kate was seen stepping aside so the brothers could be together as they left the funeral service and walked up the hill to Windsor Castle,” he told Fox.

Prince Harry ‘offered olive branch’ to Kate Middleton

“When that didn’t work, Kate continued to try and soften up her husband. But Kate understandably threw up her hands when Harry trashed William and Charles in his memoir Spare two years later.”

When Kate underwent abdominal surgery in January and later received the terrible news of her cancer diagnosis, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to act. The Sussexes are said to have reached out and spoken to Kate to show their support.

While the couple reportedly found out about the princess’ cancer diagnosis on television, they’ve apparently shown nothing but great support for her during this very challenging time.

The Princess of Wales made her first public outing following her cancer treatment during Trooping the Colors, and at Wimbledon she received a standing ovation from the crowd. Not only were royal fans worldwide excited to see the princess in good spirits during the tennis tournament, but Harry and Meghan were too.

According to a Heat Magazine source, Harry extended an olive branch to Kate when he had seen her on the television in an attempt to patch up their relationship.