EXCLUSIVE: Prince William 'Fears Harry Has Spies Inside the Palace'

Prince William is said to fear Prince Harry still has sympathetic contacts inside the royal establishment feeding him information – with the brothers' bitter trust problem intensifying now the Sussexes are back in Britain.

As RadarOnline.com has reported, Harry, 41, and Meghan Markle, 45, returned to the UK with Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, last month, six years after moving to North America.

Their arrival has placed them closer to King Charles III, 77, William, 44, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, 44, while renewing questions about Harry's relationship with the institution he left behind in 2020.

A royal source claimed to Radar: "William's concern isn't that there is some organized spying operation. It's that Harry spent his entire life inside this institution and naturally still knows people throughout the royal world. William worries that conversations can travel and that details he regards as private might eventually be finding their way to his brother now that he is back in Britain.

"He's therefore become extremely guarded about who is told what. The difficulty is that many people have worked with both brothers or remain personally fond of Harry, so William knows he can't simply draw a line through the Palace and decide everyone belongs on one side or the other. That's created an atmosphere where he's increasingly cautious about information concerning his family."

Another palace insider claimed: "Harry would completely reject any suggestion that he has 'spies.'

"There is an enormous difference between maintaining relationships with people you've known for years and asking somebody to secretly report on your family. But after everything that's happened between the brothers, even ordinary communication can now be viewed through the prism of suspicion."

Harry and Markle officially ceased being working members of the royal family in 2020 after their proposed model combining royal duties with financial independence was rejected.

The relationship subsequently deteriorated through the Sussexes' 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix series Harry & Meghan, and the publication of Harry's memoir Spare.

Harry has publicly detailed deeply personal disagreements with William, including an alleged physical confrontation at Nottingham Cottage and arguments surrounding his marriage to Markle.

William has largely avoided publicly responding to his brother's allegations.

The situation has become more complicated as Harry's relationship with Charles has improved.

Father and son have re-established contact, while the Sussexes' move back to Britain creates more opportunities for family interaction than when they lived in California.

Harry has also challenged perceptions, leaving official duties severed his connection to public service.

Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, he said: "I will always be part of the Royal Family, and I'm here working and doing the very thing that I was born to do. And I enjoy doing it."

However, Harry and Markle's return to Britain has not restored their status as working royals.

William is understood to remain particularly protective of Catherine and their children – Prince George, 13, Princess Charlotte, 11, and Prince Louis, eight – following years of public disclosures surrounding the family.

Catherine is meanwhile said to favor a less confrontational approach, encouraging William not to allow his problems with Harry to damage relationships elsewhere within the royal household.

The brothers' estrangement stretches back years, with Harry acknowledging in his memoir, Spare, that tensions existed long before he and Markle left Britain for a new life in the US.