ANOTHER WORLD

The Prince of Wales visits Scotland while the Duke of Sussex is in London, but the brothers could not be further apart

- TRACY SCHAVERIEN

Sliding across the ice and laughing as they tried their hands at curling, the Prince and Princess of Wales appeared not to have a care in the world as they joined Team GB athletes heading to the Winter Olympics in Italy next month.

The couple appeared relaxed and cheerful as they flew the flag for Britain during a day of official royal engagements in Scotland last week.

With Prince William's younger brother, the Duke of Sussex, back in the UK for his court case against a newspaper publisher, the contrast between the estranged siblings could not have been starker, even though they were closer geographically than they have been in months.

William and Kate were in high spirits as they tried curling for the first time, joined a world-record attempt to create the world's longest scarf and sat down for a drink with locals in the pub.

Meanwhile, an emotional Prince Harry was preparing to give evidence at the High Court the following day - an experience that left him close to tears as he accused the newspaper of making his wife Meghan's life “an absolute misery”.

By the time he took the stand, William and Kate were just 25 miles away in Windsor, but the distance between the brothers was greater than ever.

“Yes, they were in the same country, but it's like they're worlds apart,” the royal author Robert Jobson tells HELLO!. “William and Kate are the embodiment of the future of the monarchy, while Harry looks trapped in the past.

The brothers’ once close bond came under pressure after Harry met Meghan, and it was shattered when the Sussexes quit royal duties for a new life in California in 2020, then gave an explosive interview to Oprah Winfrey the following year in which they levelled claims of racism against the royal family.