April 14, 2021

Princes William, Harry reportedly speak as royal family gathers to mourn Prince Philip

WATCH: Inside Prince Philip's funeral preparations

Prince William and Prince Harry, brothers whose relationship has been strained over the past year, have reportedly spoken to each other as they prepare for the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip.

William, 38, and Harry, 36, are understood to have spoken by phone at some point since Harry arrived in the United Kingdom last weekend according to the U.K.'s The Telegraph.

Harry is currently staying at Frogmore Cottage, his family's home in Windsor, while he quarantines, following COVID-19 protocols after flying from California to the U.K.

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William and his family, including his wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, are currently staying at their Anmer Hall home in Norfolk, about two hours from Windsor.

William, Kate and Harry are among the 30 family members and close friends who will attend Philip's funeral at Windsor Castle on Saturday. The funeral for Philip, who died April 9 at 99 years old, has been modified due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The fact that it's a scaled-down funeral is exactly what Prince Phillip would have wanted," said ABC News royal contributor Robert Jobson. "Because really it's all about family in the end, whether you're a king or a pauper."

Harry is not expected to see his family in person until the day of the funeral, which will be the first time he has seen them in over one year, when he and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped down as senior working members of the royal family.

Harry and Meghan now live in California with their nearly 2-year-old son Archie. The couple spoke out in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey last month that spilled tensions in the royal family into public view.

In that interview, Harry described himself and William as being on "different paths."

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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge watch a flypast to mark the centenary of the Royal Air Force from the balcony of Buckingham Palace, July 10, 2018, in London.

"The relationship is space at the moment, and, you know, time heals all things, hopefully," Harry said. "I love William to bits. He's my brother. We've been through hell together, and we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths."

MORE: Prince Philip dies at 99: What we know so far about funeral plans

Both Harry and William are expected to walk together behind their grandfather's coffin on Saturday, in a procession led by their father, Prince Charles, the oldest of Queen Elizabeth and Philip's four children.

"No matter what the family difficulties, I think that they rightly will put all their problems aside for this particular day," Jobson said.

Meghan did not travel to the U.K. for Philip's funeral, as she is currently pregnant with the couple's second child.

Royal family remembers Philip

Members of the royal family released remembrances of Philip on Wednesday, including never-before-seen photographs.

William and Kate shared a photo of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip with their family taken at Balmoral Castle in 2015.

Buckingham Palace released a photo of the queen and Philip posing with their grandchildren in a photo taken by Duchess Kate at Balmoral Castle in 2018.

Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, shared photos of Philip playing polo with a young Charles and attending an official royal engagement with the couple.

One of Prince Philip's granddaughters, Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, also shared a tribute of her grandfather on Instagram.

"I remember learning how to cook, how to paint, what to read. I remember laughing at your jokes and asking about your spectacular life and service in the navy. ⁣I remember incinerating the sausages and you swooping in to save the day.⁣ I remember your hands and your laugh and your favorite beer," she wrote, in part. "I will remember you in your children, your grandchildren and great grandchildren."