Matt Damon has struck up a burgeoning friendship with both Prince William and Prince Harry, but now the Hollywood star has found himself smack in the middle of a tug-of-war between the feuding royal duo as a result, a source exclusively tells In Touch.
“Matt doesn’t want to be seen to be taking sides or favoring one over the other and he’s essentially being wooed by both of them right now, which puts him in a very difficult position, especially because William is talking about bringing him to London for events and having him come to Buckingham palace,” the source says.
“That certainly appeals to him, but he’s also got a relationship with Harry and he’s not going to just toss him to the side because William’s holding out these shiny offers.”
The Good Will Hunting star, 54, spoke at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting on September 23, where Prince Harry, 40, was slated to take the stage the next day. He also made an appearance at Prince William’s Earthshot Prize Innovation Summit on September 24. But as Matt schmoozes the royals, he has to be careful not to step on any toes.
It’s no secret tensions among the royals have been high as their relationships are strained by scandal and disappointment. The two princes’ uncle, Prince Andrew, has been embattled by sex assault and rape accusations stemming from his alleged friendship with pedophile trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Though he has vehemently denied the sordid story, the palace has been keeping the disgraced brother of the king on ice, sequestering the shamed prince away like a grotesque.
Meanwhile, Harry has been trying to weasel his way back into the royal fold after throwing up his hands and abandoning his official duties to move to North America with his wife, Meghan Markle.
The American A-lister is “intending to stay neutral and not take sides, but it’s very clear to anyone who knows these two you can’t be friends with both of them at the moment, there’s just too much bad blood.”
As Harry tries dipping his toe back into royal duties, he’s encountering slights, disrespect and cold shoulders from the family he previously turned his back on. King Charles even pulled a particularly cruel stunt in May by ordering all working royals back to Buckingham Palace at the same time Harry was attending a special ceremony for the Invictus Games, a passion project for the rejected royal that helps wounded servicemen.
Not a single royal family member turned up for the church service that was meant to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Games, leaving Harry completely isolated and alone, not to mention a bit bruised in the ego.
Needless to say, despite William’s wife, Kate Middleton, leading the charge to soften up her heir-apparent hubby to the idea of letting his little brother back into the good graces of the royal family, there’s still a lot of animosity between the only two children of King Charles and the late Princess Diana.
“So now Matt’s getting pressured to basically pick a lane and it’s becoming very uncomfortable. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if he simply opted out and ditched them both, he hates dealing with drama.”
