Prince Harry's 'close friendship' with Zara Tindall has 'almost entirely evaporated' - and she's not the only cousin he's drifted apart from
Royal expert Duncan Larcombe understands that the two royals have 'barely spoken' since he met and married Meghan Markle
It's not just the Duke of Sussex's relationship with his father and brother that's suffered since he and Meghan moved to California. According to royal expert Duncan Larcombe, rumours are that Harry has "barely spoken" with Zara Tindall in recent years.
Writing in Woman magazine, Duncan revealed that "sources say the Duke of Sussex has all but lost touch with his one-time playmate Zara". The pair used to be incredibly close and it was partly thanks to Harry that Zara met her husband Mike during the Rugby World Cup in 2003.
"I understand they have barely spoken in the years since the prince, 41, met and married Meghan," the expert said. "Not only are they said to have drifted apart, but the old close friendship they once enjoyed has, I understand, almost entirely evaporated."
Prince Harry and Zara haven't been seen in public together since King Charles's coronation and then only briefly. Meanwhile Mike spoke about how his cousin-in-law had changed at the 2026 Hay Festival during a talk with his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-hosts.
As they joked about people embarrassing themselves at the Tindalls' wedding he quipped, "A lot of other people managed that way better than you – [like] Harry, when he was fun".
It doesn't just seem to be Zara who Harry has drifted apart from. He was the only cousin not at Peter Phillips and Harriet Sperling's wedding on 6th June apart from Lady Louise Windsor, who's studying in her final year at university. We don't know whether Prince Harry and Meghan were invited or if they didn't make the guest list.
In an episode of her and Reverend Richard Coles' podcast Keeping Up With The Royals, woman&home royal correspondent Emily Andrews speculated that Peter thought it would be tricky if he asked them.
"The Sussex's team wouldn't be drawn on whether Harry and Meghan were invited or not," she said. "I suspect that Peter probably didn't invite Harry and Meghan because it's too problematic."
Reports have also alleged that they hadn't spoken for a while either, though he also used to be close with Harry. He was with him and William at Balmoral when they were told Princess Diana had died and royal biographer Hugo Vickers has said Peter Phillips was a "huge help".
It was interesting to see that whilst Harry and Meghan weren't at his wedding, possibly because it would be "problematic", Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice were.
This was their first public appearance since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest in February. They've not been personally accused of anything and their father continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing, but there's been a lot of scrutiny of them by association.
Clearly, they are still quite close to Peter and he wanted them there regardless. It's sad to see how Prince Harry's relationship with his cousins appears to have also been affected by everything in recent years.
"I think it's not just William who is upset by what Harry's done," Emily Andrews said, adding. "Let's not forget that [Harry's] talked a lot about how he has felt let down in the royal machinery… I think there are many other members of the family who felt that Harry has behaved badly".
