NEED TO KNOW
Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former private secretary to Prince William and Prince Harry, was asked about the rift between the brothers in a new interview
Lowther-Pinkerton was the full-time principal private secretary to the princes from 2005 to 2013
A rift has distanced Prince Harry from several members of the British royal family in recent years
Prince William and Prince Harry’s former private secretary has shared a telling thought about the Duke of Sussex’s future in the royal fold.
On June 22, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton offered the rare comment to The Times in a wide-ranging interview about his service in the royal household, getting to know Kate Middleton and his debut novel Beyond the Edge of Light, out July 9.
When asked about Prince Harry’s rift with Prince William and whether he thinks reconciliation is possible between the brothers, Lowther-Pinkerton, 65, offered a diplomatic reply.
“Do you know what? I think I’d better steer clear of that Harry issue,” Lowther-Pinkerton told the outlet.
“What I would say is that I was and am very fond of him. He has huge redeeming features, and I’m a perennial optimist,” he added.
Prince Harry chats to his private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton during a reception at the British High Commission on June 14, 2010 in Gaborone, Botswana
Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage
Lowther-Pinkerton is a former SAS soldier and equerry to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who served as Prince William and Prince Harry’s full-time principal private secretary from 2005 to 2013, plus a year of part-time service in the role after.
His tenure with William, now 44, and Harry, now 41, began when the princes were in their early 20s, and his royal service included the formative years of Prince William’s courtship with the future Princess Kate, William and Harry’s military services and the birth of Prince George, 12, who is his godson.
A rift has split the British royal family in recent years, in a feud that exploded into public view when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020.
Prince Harry and Prince William with their private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton at the 10th Anniversary Memorial Service For Diana, Princess of Wales at Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks on August 31, 2007 in London.
Credit: Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty
The strain was exacerbated by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, and Prince Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare, in which Harry shed light on his perspective on royal life.
Despite the fractures that remain today, Prince Harry said last year that he would love to restore the relationships with his loved ones.
In May 2025, he told BBC News that he “would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
Prince William and Prince Harry are greeted by Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton as they arrive for the unveiling of a statue of their mother, Princess Diana at The Sunken Garden in Kensington Palace, London on July 1, 2021, which would have been her 60th birthday.
Credit: YUI MOK/POOL/AFP/Getty
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Last week, news broke that Prince Harry and Meghan, 44, are planning to visit the U.K. together for the first time in four years in July and will bring their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5. Next month marks the one-year countdown to the Birmingham edition of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, and the couple has attended Invictus kickoffs together previously.
PEOPLE understands that King Charles has offered his younger son and his family accommodation on a royal estate for the trip, but he has not received a response.
The King, 77, has previously offered Harry accommodation at Buckingham Palace in London, which he has declined.
Read the original article on People