Prince William was hailed as a perfect elder brother in April 2011 when he broke a major royal protocol for Prince Harry. Various media reports suggested that the heir to the throne appointed his younger brother as his best man during his wedding to Kate Middleton in Westminster Abbey. Notably, the royal family did not follow the concept of the best man, as they termed them supporters.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry repaid the Prince of Wales by honoring him with the same title during his wedding to Meghan Markle in May 2018 at St George’s Castle. However, via his memoir Spare, Prince Harry clarified that he was not Prince William’s best man. It was just a bare-faced lie by Buckingham Palace. What is the story behind the entire fiasco? 

Prince William did not have faith in Prince Harry 

Detailing the episode in Spare, Prince Harry revealed that Prince William’s two commoner friends, Thomas van Straubenzee and James Meade, were given the prestigious honor of being the best men. However, since the public expected the Duke of Sussex to be by his brother’s side, the Palace floated a false narrative. 

“The public expected me to be the best man. Therefore, the palace saw no choice but to say that I was. In truth, Willy didn’t want me giving a best man speech. He didn’t think it safe to hand me a live mic and put me in a position to go off script,” the Duke claimed as per the Brides.

The Sussex royal defended his elder brother, saying that Prince William’s concerns about him saying something wildly inappropriate were not wrong. The two royal brothers had a healthy chat about the topic before the wedding, and Prince Harry was okay with the arrangement.

Meanwhile, despite the Prince of Wales’ worry, the Duke of Sussex shared a few heartwarming words at the former’s reception. It was an emotional moment as Prince Harry recalled some of their fond childhood memories while also mentioning how their late mother Princess Diana would be happy witnessing the bond between Prince William and Kate Middleton. 

Do you think Prince William did right by not making his younger brother his best man? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.