20 Members of the Royal Family Who Hated Each Other

Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were one of the most powerful couples in 12th-century Europe; their marriage gave rise to the Angevin Empire. This, however, did not prevent their relationship from deteriorating. In 1173, Eleanor supported their sons’ rebellion against Henry, who then held her captive for years.

Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scotland, never met in person, which made their rivalry all the more bitter. Mary’s claims to the English throne—as a Catholic—made her a threat to Elizabeth’s Protestant reign. After years of imprisonment in England, Mary was executed in 1587.

Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 left his younger brother, George VI, with a throne he had not expected to inherit. The tensions did not end when Edward married Wallis Simpson and became the Duke of Windsor. George resented Edward for the chaos he had caused, while Edward remained bitter about Wallis’s limited royal status and his own estrangement from the family.

Henry I and Robert Curthose fought over the territories left behind by William the Conqueror. Robert retained Normandy, while Henry seized the English throne, but neither seemed satisfied with this arrangement. In 1106, Henry defeated Robert at Tinchebray and kept him captive until the end of his days.

King John had a strained relationship with his older brother, Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart. While Richard was away on a crusade and was later held hostage for a ransom, John sought to consolidate his power in England.

Catherine de’ Medici was Queen of France, but it was Diane de Poitiers who had won King Henry II’s heart. Diane enjoyed gifts, political influence, and privileged access that made Catherine’s situation extremely difficult. After Henry’s death in 1559, Catherine finally had the power to remove Diane from court life.

Henry VIII’s relationship with Mary and Elizabeth was strained by his marriages, his annulments, and his quest for a male heir. Both daughters were declared illegitimate at various times, but were eventually reinstated in the line of succession.

Mary I and Elizabeth I were half-sisters, but religion and succession issues ruined their relationship. After the Wyatt Rebellion in 1554, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London while Mary’s government investigated whether she had been involved. Elizabeth survived, and when she became queen in 1558, England moved away from the Catholic policies pursued by Mary.

George I and George II very quickly brought family conflicts to the fledgling Hanoverian court. George I distrusted his son and kept him from any real power, especially when he was away from Great Britain.

The relationship between George II and his son Frederick was even worse. Frederick had grown up far from his parents, in Hanover, and as soon as he arrived in Great Britain, he became a real political headache for the king. Their feud reached its peak in 1737, when Frederick sent his pregnant wife away from the king’s sphere of influence even before she gave birth.

Queen Victoria relied heavily on Princess Beatrice after Prince Albert’s death in 1861. When Beatrice expressed a desire to marry Prince Henry of Battenberg, Victoria reacted badly, punishing her own daughter with months of silence. She eventually gave her consent to the marriage, but Beatrice had to remain at her mother’s side afterward.

The relationship between King Charles III and Prince Andrew has been marked by scandals, public outrage, and the monarchy’s need to protect itself. Andrew stepped down from his official duties after coming under investigation for his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Charles then took steps to strip him of his remaining royal honors and evict him from Royal Lodge.

Prince William and Prince Harry once embodied the public image of two brothers united by the same loss. That bond began to fray after Harry and Meghan stepped back from active royal life in 2020. Harry has spoken of a physical altercation with William, although the details of that dispute remain largely unknown.

Princess Diana considered Camilla Parker Bowles to be primarily responsible for the failure of her marriage to Charles. By the time Diana gave her televised interview in 1995, the pain associated with their relationship had become a full-blown public spectacle. The tension between Diana and Camilla became one of the most talked-about royal conflicts of the late 20th century.

Relations between Queen Elizabeth II and Sarah Ferguson cooled after Sarah’s separation from Prince Andrew and several embarrassing incidents in the early 1990s. Sarah was not completely cut off from the family, but she spent years on the fringes of the most formal royal circles. 

Prince Philip is said to have adopted an even more uncompromising stance toward Sarah Ferguson. In the wake of the scandals that marked their divorce, it was widely reported that he no longer wished to spend time with her. For a family that had often been in the habit of handling conflicts through silence, this long-standing distance spoke volumes.

Princess Anne and Princess Diana had very different approaches to royal life. Anne was pragmatic, reserved, and known for her unwavering work ethic. Diana brought emotion, glamour, and media attention to the heart of the family. Rumors of tension between them persisted for years, although their relationship was undoubtedly more complex than people realize.

King Charles III and Prince Philip had a strained father-son relationship for much of Charles’s life. Philip was direct and pragmatic, while Charles was more sensitive, thoughtful, and interested in causes that, at the time, seemed unusual within the royal family. 

Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret loved each other, but the crown shaped their lives in painfully different ways. Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend became, in the 1950s, a public ordeal involving duty, divorce, religion, and royal expectations. Elizabeth wore the crown, while Margaret often seemed trapped by what that crown demanded of her.

After the death of Henry I, Stephen and Empress Matilda turned a succession dispute into a civil war that lasted several years. Matilda believed she had a more legitimate claim to the throne as Henry’s daughter, while Stephen seized the crown. The fighting ended with Stephen remaining on the throne until his death, and Matilda’s son was recognized as the next king.