The struggle is real for younger siblings of the future monarch.
More than a half century beforePrince Harry’s shockingroyal exit, his great-auntPrincess Margaretstruggled with her place in the shadow of her older sisterElizabeth.
“The younger-sibling syndrome is an enduring problem,” Robert Lacey, author of the booksMajestyandMonarch, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story. “The system has not found a way of giving them the recognition that they need.”
And as the older sibling has children, the problem only worsens.
“Until Elizabeth produced heirs, Margaret was a possible future Queen,” added Lacey. “It is a family situation of conflict that goes back over generations.”
Before 1936, neither Elizabeth nor Margaret expected their father to become king. But when his brother,King Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry American divorcée Wallis Simpson,their lives were turned upside down.
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The Queen asked them to wait, and according to Margaret’s biographer, Christopher Warwick, the relationship fizzled out.
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A similarriftbetween brothersPrince HarryandPrince Williamcan be traced back to the early daysof Harry andMeghan Markle’s romance, when, sources said,William cautioned Harry about moving too fast.
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Last week, Meghan and Harry announced their historic decision tostep down as senior royals, as the couple felt increasingly ostracized from the family.
In their statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they wanted to “carve out a progressive new role within this institution” — however, the public announcement came with little formal warning and left senior royals “hurt,” something that was “so avoidable,” a royal source said.
A family friendtold PEOPLEthat the couple felt they had no choice but to manage things the way they did, even as they went against the family’s “never complain, never explain” mantra.
“This is not how they wanted to handle this, but Meghan and Harry’s hand was forced,” said the friend. “There is so much bad blood in that family — it’s toxic.”
source: people.com
