This royal tried 'repeatedly' to get Prince William and Harry to reconcile with invites behind the scenes - and it's not who you'd expect
One member of the wider family apparently reached out about going for dinners and drinks but it 'came to naught'
The ongoing speculation over whether Prince William and Prince Harry will ever mend their relationship is exhausting at this point - and it's hard to think what can be done or *who* could be the one to help. Some people might look to the Princess of Wales to encourage peace between her husband and brother-in-law.
In the past, Princess Eugenie was also seen as someone who could bridge the gap between her cousins, but it's now been suggested that someone more surprising stepped in too. Writing in woman&home's December issue, magazine Royal Editor Emily Andrews describes how Harry has "always been close to Zara and Mike Tindall".
She's been told "Mike repeatedly tried to broker reconciliation between the brothers by inviting both of them to dinner or drinks - or just to knock heads over a beer."
"It came to naught," Emily continues. "And Mike recently made a quip about a time long ago 'when Harry was fun', perhaps implying how he feels about the Duke now."
The retired rugby star's comment was made at the 2026 Hay Festival during a talk with his The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast co-hosts. While joking about people embarrassing themselves at his wedding he apparently quipped, "A lot of other people managed that way better than you - [like] Harry, when he was fun".
As Emily notes, this might suggest that the once-tight relationship between Mike and Harry has also grown more distant in recent years. However, it's interesting to hear that he allegedly tried to help bring Harry and William back together behind-the-scenes.
Seeing each other in an informal setting, with another person there as a buffer sounds like a gentler option for the brothers. It could also have helped that it was Mike extending the invites rather than Zara, as he's married into the Royal Family and so has a different perspective on things and is separate from their historic dynamics.
I can certainly see why Mike Tindall might have "repeatedly" hoped it would work. Sadly, it doesn't seem to have happened and Emily expresses her belief that "in reality, it's likely to be up to the King to knock [his sons'] heads" together.
Mike and Zara Tindall are expected to spend the festive period with King Charles at Sandringham House again this year and everyone is waiting to see if the Sussexes will make an appearance at any point.
If they're there on Christmas Day it would be the first time Harry and Meghan have reunited publicly with the wider family since Queen Elizabeth's funeral. The couple didn't attend Zara's brother Peter Phillips' wedding in June, which was the last time we saw the Royal Family all come together.
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The Sussexes didn't confirm whether they'd been invited or not, though reports claimed Peter hadn't spoken with his cousin in "years". Zara is also said to have a very different relationship with Prince Harry now then she used to when they were growing up. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe claimed in Woman earlier this year that he understands "they have barely spoken" since Harry met and married Meghan.
"Not only are they said to have drifted apart, but the old close friendship they once enjoyed has, I understand, almost entirely evaporated," he continued.
