King Charles III has reportedly told Prince Harry in no uncertain terms that he will never be allowed to return as a “half-in, half-out” working royal.
The 76-year-old monarch privately met his estranged son, 41, for about an hour at Clarence House in London last week- the pair’s first face-to-face meeting in more than 18 months.
At first, the reunion was billed as a major step forward in their strained relationship, with speculation it marked a “royal reset” for the Duke of Sussex.
Courtiers from both households were even said to be weighing up ways to bring father and son together more often over the next year, possibly paving the way for a joint appearance at a public event.
Harry himself stoked the speculation, telling The Guardian the very next day that he still has “a lot of support from the British public”.
But palace insiders insist the King will not bend on one crucial point: Harry’s royal status.
“The King is a forgiving man but has been absolutely clear in upholding his late mother (Queen Elizabeth II)’s decision that there cannot be ‘half-in, half-out’ members of the working Royal family,” a palace source told The Mail on Sunday.
The insider dismissed reports of a comeback, adding: “Whoever is behind them seems to have mistaken a brief tea and a slice of cake for the Treaty of Versailles.”
They added that Harry will “absolutely not” take on any public role alongside the royal family, even as a ‘non-working royal’.
The Duke of Sussex has lived in California since 2020 with his American wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, after stepping down from royal duties in what has become widely referred to as “Megxit”.
A source close to Harry has insisted, however, that the issue of his potential return to royal life was “put to bed years ago” and that he is “very happy with his life in California”.
“The duke has made it clear that the focus has to be on his dad,” the source told the Mail.
“Beyond that, and on any other issues as it relates to his family, we won’t be commenting.”
Meanwhile, Prince William- who did not meet with his younger brother during the UK trip- is said to be “very aware” of his father’s past missteps with Harry and determined not to repeat them.
According to royal author Valentine Low, the Prince of Wales takes a very different approach to sensitive matters- including family tensions.
“William is very different from his father, and I think essentially, William is very aware of what he regards as mistakes his father has made, and he’s not going to repeat them,” Mr Low told GB News.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
