As Prince Harry prepares to make his return to the UK, a potential meeting with his estranged father King Charles is on the cards, but the King’s fear over Harry’s publicity could spell disaster for a reunion
Prince Harry is just days away from touching down in the UK for the first time in several months, as he is set to attend the annual WellChild Awards in London.
While on his rare trip to UK shores, many have speculated on whether the Duke of Sussex will meet with his estranged father King Charles for the first time in almost two years.
While many royal commentators and fans alike are hoping for a reconciliation between the father and son, royal expert Katie Nicholl believes King Charles has one major fear about potentially rekindling a relationship with his youngest son.
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Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the Firm in 2020, the Sussexes have delivered a series of public jabs towards the royal family, in their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, their documentary series on Netflix in 2022, and Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare in 2023.
The dozens of accusations levelled at the Firm only further drove a wedge between the Sussexes and the royal family, with speculation mounting that Prince Harry and King Charles were not on speaking terms.
Now, with a potential reconciliation between the two just days away, Katie Nicholl revealed that King Charles would no doubt be concerned about Harry sharing details of their reunion to the media.
“The reason his father is not speaking to him is because he fears that anything he might say will be made public in some shape or form,” the royal expert tells OK! magazine . “Let’s not forget that details of private conversations between Harry, Charles and William at an event as intimate as the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral were chronicled in Spare.
“So much has been aired publicly, which has been incredibly damaging for the monarchy, that the King is understandably wary of speaking to his son. Charles has had his fingers burned. And so the ball is in Harry’s court to prove that he can earn back his father’s – and his family’s – trust.”
Of course, it’s not just Harry and Meghan who have grown increasingly distant from the royal family. So too have their children – Archie, six, and Lilibet, four – who are now sadly cut off from their grandfather, King Charles, their aunt and uncle, The Prince and Princess of Wales, and their three young cousins, George, Charlotte and Louis.
For the late Queen, who was never happier than when surrounded by close family, this would be the bitterest pill to swallow. “I think she would have been absolutely devastated by the fact that the King’s not seeing them [Archie and Lilibet].
They are sixth and seventh in the line of succession at the moment, so she would be very upset,” says Phil. “And I don’t think she would have liked the fact that Harry’s never met [Meghan’s father] Thomas Markle, or that the kids have never met him.” As for Harry himself, Phil says he’ll be feeling somewhat adrift without his grandmother, the late Queen’s, guiding hand.“I like to think he would be missing her,” he says. “I think he should be missing his father as well, I think he should be missing his brother – he should be missing everyone.“But he’s got himself into this situation and even if he’d won that case, I don’t think Meghan would particularly want to come back and spend much time in this country. I think she knows how unpopular she is, so I don’t think she’s going to come back, she’s not going to bring the kids. I don’t see any immediate resolution to it.
“In fact, I don’t actually think that William and Harry will ever repair their relationship. It is permanently damaged, unfortunately.” While the cracks in the royal family may appear deeper than ever, Katie is hopeful that the Prince and his father might one day patch up their differences.“I think there is still a chance that there can be a reconciliation,” she says. “The King is a magnanimous man and not a malicious man, and he’s also a man who wants a relationship with his youngest son, with his daughter-in-law and with the grandchildren.“I think there is a far greater hope for a reconciliation with Charles and Harry, than with Harry and William. And I think it’s goingto take time.
“It’s really down to Harry to prove that he can be trusted and that he’s prepared to listen to his father and drop this campaign, this mission he seems to be on, to trash his family and to hurt those who were once closest to him.”Harry’s approach to family relations is a far cry from that of the late Queen, who was very much in favour of forgiveness and building bridges. Despite once reportedly branding her “that wicked woman”, she grew fond of her daughter-in-law, Queen Camilla, over the years and also forged an amicable relationship with Prince Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, whose two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, she loved dearly.Phil says that, unlike Harry, “The late Queen wasn’t somebody who would hold grudges – she was somebody who would always try to resolve problems.”