Prince Harry has been back in the UK in recent days, trying to pretend that everything is going to be OK, as if all of his slights against his own family will be forgiven, just like that. For a few days, he swapped his Hollywood lifestyle for the less glamorous surroundings of Birmingham and Warwickshire in anticipation of next year’s Invictus Games – the founding of which is, by the way, an incredible achievement that Harry is rightly lauded for. He also met with King Charles, with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their children, Archie and Lilibet.
This was no doubt a heartwarming reunion, as the youngsters had not seen their grandfather since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. But this need not have been the case. The King could have seen his grandchildren frequently had Harry and Meghan stayed in the UK to carry out their duties, following their wedding in 2018 at which point they had national treasure status.
The Royal Family would have been stronger for having Harry and Meghan to call upon to help with engagements in the UK and beyond. But they chose to flee.
Charles seems to want to keep his relationship with his son going, which is understandable, but William, the Prince of Wales, reportedly remains estranged from his brother.
Indeed, The Sunday Times noted at the weekend that “Harry has, wisely, all but given up hope of a reconciliation” with him.
It has even been claimed that William did not like the idea of the King meeting with Harry.
When Queen Elizabeth II died, so did the hopes of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – reportedly her favourite son – who had his title removed by her successor.
Charles rightly took a hard line in an effort to safeguard the Crown’s reputation as much as possible, also banishing him from Royal Lodge in Windsor.
And we can expect a similar hard line approach from William towards his brother, whenever he eventually becomes king.
William is thought to still be deeply hurt about Harry’s attacks on the royals, such as in an interview with Oprah Winfrey and in his memoir Spare.
It seems as though the relationship is irreparable.
So, when William does take the throne, Harry cannot reasonably expect his apparent rapprochement with the Firm to continue.
He may be doomed to spend the rest of his days in exile as a minor celebrity in California.
There are worse existences, of course, but surely he will be pining for what could have been – a place at his brother’s side, supporting him and the institution he was destined to represent, carrying out vital work in the name of the Crown.
But that ain’t gonna happen.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
