Prince William and Prince Harry grew up surrounded by close-knit cousins, sharing family holidays, summers at Balmoral and Christmas celebrations at Sandringham.
But as the brothers remain estranged, questions are emerging over whether their own children will ever have the chance to build the same bonds.
William and Harry regularly spent time with their cousins, including Zara Tindall, Peter Phillips, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
They also maintained connections with their maternal relatives, the Spencer family, following the death of their mother, Princess Diana.
Now, with the next generation growing up largely apart, royal expert Angela Mollard believes the question of whether the cousins will form relationships of their own will soon come into debate.
Prince Harry’s olive branch
William is father to three children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — while Harry has two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
But any prospect of a relationship between the cousins may depend on whether their fathers can first find a way to repair their own fractured relationship.
The brothers were famously close as children but a rift in adulthood has left them estranged.
The Duke of Sussex has rarely spoken to his older brother since their split and has only recently reconnected with their father, King Charles, following his return to the UK with the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, and their two children in August.
However, Prince Harry appears keen to mend bridges.
In an October interview with GQ, he described reconciling with his family as the “most important thing”.
“With everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile,” he said.
Harry acknowledged family breakdowns and sibling disagreements are not unique to the royal family, with many ordinary families experiencing similar tensions.
“There’s sibling disagreements, there’s broken relationships between kids and their parents, kids and one parent,” he said.
“And some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out,” he added.
Harry’s spokesperson later clarified his comments were not intended as a swipe at William or any other family members.
While acknowledging “scars stick around forever”, Harry said he hoped to encourage others dealing with family difficulties to move forward.
“For me, there’s enough drama in the world and enough drama in people’s lives than to continue with issues with family,” he said.
“It’s not worth it.”
There have also been reports of quiet efforts by Harry to avoid overshadowing William and Catherine, including around scheduling and stepping back from public appearances when the couple have their own engagements.
Royal commentator Mollard hopes William is taking notice of his younger brother’s olive branch.
“He’s famously hot-headed and has reasonable grounds not to reconcile,” Mollard told 7NEWS.com.au.
“But when he becomes monarch he’ll want to be a unifying force and being estranged from his brother undermines that.”
Mollard suggested William may be waiting to see whether Harry can demonstrate a willingness to keep private family matters out of the public domain.
“William may be watching to see if Harry learns not to spill the beans on everything and with time he may consider a reconciliation of sorts,” she said.
Diana’s anniversary could be make or break
“Harry would be well-advised not to commercialise the 30th anniversary of his mother’s death. He needs to be on the same page as William if he wants to realign,” Mollard said.
Next year marks 30 years since Diana’s tragic death, and royal watchers had hoped the milestone might provide an opportunity for the brothers to come together.
However, reports suggest they are preparing to honour their mother’s legacy in markedly different ways.
Harry is understood to be discussing several projects celebrating Diana’s life, while William has reportedly declined a number of offers to appear in documentary tributes to his late mother.
According to the UK’s Sunday Times, William’s decision is partly motivated by a desire to “avoid a potential further conflict with his brother”.
“It is understood that William wants to avoid a situation where he and Harry, who remain estranged, are ‘pitted against each other’ during film-making,” the publication reported.
While William is reportedly reluctant to participate in the projects, Harry is expected to mark the milestone with a Netflix-produced documentary.
What does this mean for the future of the royal couins?
For now, the prospect of a reconciliation between the brothers remains uncertain.
But as their children grow older, the question of whether they might forge relationships independently of their fathers is likely to become more pressing.
Mollard believes it is too early to know whether George, Charlotte and Louis will develop a bond with Archie and Lilibet, but says the dynamics within the two households could make it difficult.
“The Prince and Princess of Wales are clearly building a family that turns inwards not outwards,” she said.
“They had all three children at the same schools and they’ll be doing a lot behind the scenes to ensure the children have a more ‘Middleton’ style allegiance.
“Will George, Charlotte and Louis need the Sussex cousins? Unlikely. They have plenty of cousins. It’s the Sussex children who lack them.”
