For a brief moment, there appeared to be a possibility that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were finally preparing to confront one of the most painful chapters in their relationship with Prince William and Princess Catherine, but that possibility has now been dramatically shut down, and the denial may actually leave the royal rift looking even more entrenched than before.

According to a bombshell report in PEOPLE magazine, members of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s team have made it clear they do not plan to apologize to William and Catherine for the explosive and damaging revelations and accusations they made during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.

The couple’s statement directly disputes a report from the U.K.’s Express that suggested the Sussexes hoped to apologize as part of a wider reconciliation effort.

A source close to Harry and Meghan described the report as “nonsense.” And that single word could become more significant than the apology story itself.

Because if the PEOPLE report is accurate, Harry and Meghan are not simply saying that an apology is not happening right now. They are making it clear that there is no apology plan at all, despite renewed attention on the relationship between the two couples following the Sussexes’ return to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

For William and Catherine, that could be a particularly difficult message to absorb.

The Oprah interview was not some forgotten disagreement that disappeared with time. Meghan spoke publicly about what she described as “concerns and conversations” within the royal family about how dark Archie’s skin might be before his birth, while Harry spoke about his fractured relationship with William and accused the institution of “leaking but also planting of stories.” Meghan also revealed that she had reached a point where she “didn’t want to be alive anymore.”

Those were extraordinarily serious claims, and they were made before a global audience.

Then came Harry’s memoir, Spare, further interviews and years of public discussion about the royal family. The wounds were repeatedly reopened rather than quietly allowed to heal.

That is why the latest denial could be interpreted as something far more significant than a simple correction of an inaccurate report.

It potentially tells William and Catherine that Harry and Meghan do not believe they are the ones who need to apologize. That distinction matters.

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Harry has previously suggested that there are grievances on his side that remain unresolved, and his position has often appeared to be that he and Meghan were hurt, humiliated and neglected by the royal family. If that remains their thinking, then an apology to William and Catherine would require them to accept responsibility for at least some of the damage they caused to the relationship — something this latest report suggests they are not preparing to do.

And that is where the reconciliation dream could collide with reality. PEOPLE has previously reported that Harry has made some progress rebuilding his relationship with his father, King Charles, but the same progress has not occurred with William. One source put it bluntly: “There’s no movement, especially on William’s side.”

Now the Sussexes appear to be rejecting the idea that an apology is even necessary.

For William, that could be deeply frustrating because the issue is not simply whether Harry says the words “I am sorry.” It is whether Harry and Meghan recognize why their actions were so damaging in the first place.

An apology that comes years later would already be difficult. But if Harry and Meghan genuinely believe they have nothing to apologize for, there may be no meaningful reconciliation to discuss.

The irony is striking. Harry and Meghan’s return to Britain has placed the family relationship under renewed scrutiny at precisely the moment when many royal watchers were wondering whether the Sussexes might finally be ready to lower their guard. Instead, the latest report has produced the opposite message: there may be no apology coming.

And if Harry believes the royal family owes him an apology for the pain he says he experienced, then the stalemate could continue indefinitely.

William and Catherine may not be waiting for another interview, another book or another explanation. They may simply be waiting for Harry to decide whether he wants reconciliation more than he wants to remain right.

Until that changes, the family divide could remain exactly where it has been for years — painfully unresolved.