“The ball has been in William’s court,” Scobie says

(L): Prince William at Westminster Abbey on March 10, 2025 in London, England; (R): Prince Harry at the Royal Courts of Justice on January 20, 2026 in London, England.Credit : Samir Hussein/WireImage; Peter Nicholls/Getty

Royal author Omid Scobie is sharing his insights on the state of brothers Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship.

Scobie, who recently published his debut novel Royal Spin and previously covered the royal family in his books Finding Freedom and Endgame, says the dynamic between the brothers looks much the same as it did three years ago.

In 2023, “Harry was still waiting for that moment of accountability from his brother — an opportunity to talk about many of the grievances that have built up to this point and be able to move on from that,” Scobie tells PEOPLE.

Now, in 2026, “Nothing has changed,” he says. “The expectations and wants and wishes of Prince Harry are exactly the same as they were then — and none of them have been met.”

Prince William (L) and Prince Harry (R) walk together to meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle on September 10, 2022 two days after Queen Elizabeth II died.Kirsty O’Connor – WPA Pool/Getty

The Duke of Sussex, 41, and the Prince of Wales, 43, have had a strained relationship going back at least as far as 2020, when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, stepped away from their roles as senior working members of the royal family. Tensions between the couple and the royal family mounted in the ensuing years as Harry and Meghan shared their reflections on royal life in high-profile interviews, a Netflix series and Harry’s revealing memoir.

During that time, Scobie says Harry made “repeated attempts” to reach out to William both directly and “through mutual friends and individuals that they both deem important in their lives,” despite the fractious dynamic. While Scobie has recently seen what he calls “some moments of warmth” between Harry and his father, King Charles, in recent years, he says “that hasn’t happened with William.”

“The ball has been in William’s court for some time now,” Scobie says. “And he’s chosen not just to knock it back, but to kick it in the other direction.”

He continues, “I think in terms of family, it takes two, and I think we have seen some effort between Harry and his father go both ways.” In contrast, the Prince of Wales, according to Scobie, is “avoiding dealing with this matter whatsoever.”

“I hate to bring this back to William’s role, but as a future king, you would think that one of the things he should be able to navigate easily is family,” he says. “One day, he’ll be the head of the royal family; he’ll be the head of the Church of England. There’ll be a lot of things that he stands for, or will seemingly stand for. And if he’s unable to mend a fracture — for all the reasons that we know are behind it — with his brother, I think that also says something about him as a future monarch that may not work in his favor.”

Author Russell Myers wrote in his new book, William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era: The Inside Story, out March 10, that William “felt betrayed” by his brother, especially in the wake of Spare‘s release.

A source close to William said, “At first, he was incredibly angry. The situation had spiralled out of control, but the book reinforced his view that [Harry] was not to be trusted. [William] was incredibly let down and immensely sad, but in a way it made him more determined to rally around his own family and his father and I think what you’ve seen since then is a complete dedication to concentrate on the things you can have an effect on, or what you view as important, and engaging [with Harry] did not come under that.”

“Royal Spin” authors Omid Scobie (L) and Robin Benway (R).Luke Fontana

Following his years of work covering the real British monarchy, Scobie is now focused on the fictional “alternate royal universe” of his new novel, Royal Spin, co-authored with National Book Award winner Robin Benway

“Whatever the big moments of recent years have been, we wanted to keep far away from the book because I also want this to feel like an evergreen title that lives beyond headlines — that is completely detached from reality and offers that kind of escapism,” he tells PEOPLE. “To keep that separation was important. Not just for the reader, but also for me. Because I want to remain detached from that chapter of my life, which still is an important chapter, but isn’t this chapter.”

“Royal Spin: A Novel,” by Omid Scobie and Robin Benway.Harper Collins Publishers

Released on Feb. 10 and billed as a “fish-out-of-water workplace comedy,” Royal Spin follows Lauren, a young American who leaves her job in the White House press office for a role on Buckingham Palace’s communications team, where palace politics, culture clashes and an unexpected romance with a royal reporter quickly complicate her new start. The book is also in development as a TV series.

Though he “never officially stepped away” from his role as a royal reporter and continues to be approached by sources, Scobie shares one big move he recently made to mark the transition in his career: “Weirdly, I was still in the Royal Press WhatsApp group with all of the palace aides up until late last year when I finally decided it was time to pull myself out of it.”

Royal Spin is available now wherever books are sold.