It is believed there are no plans for the King to meet the Duke of Sussex this week
Prince Harry has returned to the UK, but is not believed to be meeting his father or brother whilst he is here.
The Duke of Sussex is in the UK to attend an event for WellChild, the charity of which he is patron. Despite speculation that a “peace summit” between the King and Harry might be on the cards, and reports that Harry wants to spend more time back in Britain, relations between the Royals seem as fractured as ever.
So can Prince Harry ever make up with William and Charles? Our panel of experts give their perspectives.
Harry Mount: ‘It’s understandable that William and Charles keep their distance’
Sorry seems to be the hardest word.
That’s Prince Harry’s problem. He supposedly wants to make up with the Royal Family – but can’t bring himself to say the S word to them.
He is in Britain this week – only a few miles from Prince William – but it looks unlikely that he’ll see either his brother or his father.
You can see why they’re reluctant to see Harry. Each time they do, Harry and Meghan, like desperate gossip columnists, use every little nugget of Royal news to liven up their waning media career.
The Sussexes must have twigged that the public don’t want to watch Meghan making lunch. They want Royal gossip.
If Harry does say sorry, he might just repair his relationship with his father and brother. The King’s cancer diagnosis must have concentrated Prince Harry’s mind.
One of the great lessons of being a British public schoolboy used to be the ability to say sorry a lot – even if you didn’t mean it. Now’s the time to learn the lesson, Harry.
Harry Mount is author of ‘How England Made the English‘
‘It seems clear that Catherine and Meghan were like chalk and cheese from the start,’ says Jennie Bond (Photo: Chris Jackson/PA)Jennie Bond: ‘Never say never’
Families are complex, and none more so than the Royals. But I don’t doubt for a moment that Charles still loves his wayward younger son and longs for reconciliation. With Harry’s court case about security now over and both men in the UK, the prospect of them meeting this week is brighter than for a very long time. Crucially, though, the detail of any such meeting has to remain private if father and son are to make progress.
As for William and Harry, I don’t suppose either truly knows whether they can ever heal the rift that has severed their relationship. So let’s look at the pros and cons.
One reason they would do well to mend the row is that they have a unique bond. Only they know the trauma of their adolescent years when they shockingly lost their mother in a car crash. Only they know what it was like to grieve for Diana in the blazing glare of the world’s media. There is no one else with whom they can share that experience, and its legacy, in the same way.
Another reason is that William might cut quite a lonely figure on the throne when his time comes. The expectation had always been that Harry would be his wing-man – much as the Princess Royal is such a valuable wing-woman to her brother, Charles.
A third reason is that both men might, and should, remember their father‘s words – as revealed by Harry in his memoir – that they should “not make his final years a misery”.
The factors weighing against a reconciliation include trust, hurt – and wives.
Harry has committed perhaps the greatest sin of all in Royal circles: spilling the beans about life behind the Palace walls and conversations that were never meant to be aired in public. William guards his privacy and protects his family like a lion and Harry’s loose lip has infuriated him. Along with that fury, there must be a deep sense of hurt.
And then we come to the thorny issue of wives. It seems clear that Catherine and Meghan were like chalk and cheese from the start, and it never got any better.
As the years roll by, perspectives may change. So, I would never say never, but I think any reconciliation between William and Harry – if it ever comes, and it may well not – is a long way off.
Jennie Bond was the BBC’s royal correspondent for 14 years
Emily Watkins: ‘Charles is the one who needs to apologise’
Before we get carried away with Disney-esque visions of father and son falling into each other’s arms, let’s take a moment to remember what caused the rift in the first place, shall we?
Namely, the Royal Family’s treatment of Harry’s wife Meghan Markle, behaviour that contributed to the couple’s decision to leave both their official roles and the country altogether. And while the assumption seems to be that Harry ought to be going cap in hand to his ailing dad and begging for kingly clemency, Charles doesn’t get a moral hall pass.
On the contrary, if we could transpose the dynamic to a family less laden with uppity national sentiment, I suspect most would agree that it’s Charles who needs to apologise – if only as the representative of an institution that subjected his son’s partner to untold scrutiny and pressure, not to mention racism.
Meanwhile, when you waft away the clouds of outrage, it’s hard to see what exactly Harry’s supposed to have done wrong. Set up an independent life? Protect his wife? Hardly unforgiveable. Family rifts are always complicated, but in this case the role of olive branch-bearer clearly falls to Charles – not just a king, but a parent, who owes his son (not to mention his daughter-in-law) an apology.
Emily Watkins is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to ‘The i Paper’
‘Prince Harry’s fiercely-held belief that he has been singled out for unfair treatment over his access to police protection in Britain has become one of the main wedges between him and his family,’ writes Cahal Milmo (Photo: Isabel Infantes/Reuters)
Richard Palmer: ‘Harry is ready for a truce’
It may be a stretch too far for Prince William for now but the King and Prince Harry have a decent chance of reconciliation.
Harry is ready for a truce, despite maintaining that he cannot bring his family over to Britain without guaranteed police protection. It’s true the King is still wary of whether he can trust his younger son not to reveal private family conversations, and is hurt by some of the damaging accusations Harry has made about him and Queen Camilla over the past five years.
But there has been some bridge-building: their two offices have at least started talking to each other again to try to co-ordinate on some announcements and avoid embarrassing diary clashes. A rapprochement would at least give Charles III a chance to catch up with his grandchildren, even see them again one day if the security could be fixed for such a trip.
But it is hard to see Harry and Meghan ever returning to official Royal duties or making the UK their home again. Family rifts are often partially healed when everyone decides it’s easier to reach an accommodation than continue refusing to speak. But it is often never the same again.
Richard Palmer is a royal reporter with over 20 years’ experience
Cahal Milmo: ‘Keeping out of the courts will help’
Prince Harry’s fiercely-held belief that he has been singled out for unfair treatment over his access to police protection in Britain has become one of the main wedges between him and his family.
For his part, the Duke of Sussex holds that the decision to downgrade his security after he stepped back as a working Royal means that he has been meted out “inferior treatment” which stymies his ability to return home with his wife and children.
When he lost a high-profile court case against the Government to overturn this change in his status in May, he publicly mused that he had been the victim of a “good old fashioned Establishment stitch-up”.
The spectacle of a senior, if estranged, Royal suing His Majesty’s Government does not sit well with the Palace and Royal sources have made clear the displeasure within senior ranks of the House of Windsor with Harry’s legal adventures in this area.
However, a public acceptance by the Duke that he will now no longer pursue his grievance in the courts – appealing instead directly to Sir Keir Starmer to examine his circumstances – may well mean that the security question is no longer the road block to improved relations that it once was.
It remains the case that Harry is entitled to and receives police protection when he is in the UK; albeit not on the permanent and automatic basis that it once was.
An effort to keep this particular aspect of Sussex-Windsor relations out of the courts – and the public glare – is likely to go some way towards smoothing Royal feathers. But it of course remains the case that other and more problematic issues – from the racism allegations to the lingering effects of “Megxit” – remain to be resolved.
Cahal Milmo is the chief reporter of ‘The i Paper’