Hopes for a reconciliation between Prince Harry and his father King Charles have been raised after it emerged several of their aides had a ‘peace summit’ – but one expert has warned caution should be exercised
Prince Harry could be on the road to reconciliation with his father, the King – but he will always be on the sidelines, even if they do reunite, an expert has warned.
Father and son have long had a fractured relationship, with Harry admitting in a bombshell TV interview earlier this year after losing his security case that his dad is no longer speaking to him. However, sources have now told the Mirror that the King would welcome a royal reunion with Harry – but only if he scales back his public attacks on the family and stops the “endless” interviews.
It comes after it emerged that Meredith Maines, Harry’s chief communications officer, and Liam Maguire, who runs Harry and Meghan’s UK public relations team, met the King’s communications secretary Tobyn Andreae at the Royal Over-Seas League in London last week. The private members’ club is located right by Clarence House, Charles’s London residence.
According to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, it could be Harry’s wife, Meghan, forging ahead in her own career that has prompted Harry to take action when it comes to reconciling with his family.
She told the Mirror: “Love her or loathe her, Meghan has found her happy place and it has nothing to do with the Royal Family. As Ever, raspberry jam, beige ensembles and over-emotive podcasts might not be your thing, but they are working for California’s Princess.
“And before any bilious naysayers butt in, this is good news for a future rapprochement between Harry and the King. The two men have a chance to work things through. And surely everybody wants that?
“That leaves only one option – reconciliation. The big question is when? And courtesy of a meeting between the two royal camps on a prominent London balcony, it looks like that ‘when’ will be sooner rather than later.”
“Never work-shy, five years after exiting Britain’s Royal Family, the Duchess of Sussex is making waves as an product-cum-life style influencer, and crucially this new identity does not depend on attacking the House of Windsor for revenue.
“Which leaves Harry space to explore and repair the sorry state of relations with his father. Something he has long said he wants to address. It will not be easy, and nor should we expect immediate results, but that meeting of assistants in London last week is a harbinger of things to come.”
Harry claimed in his controversial memoir, Spare, his brother, Prince William, had physically attacked him and that the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of Meghan.
His level of security changed in 2020 when he and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to California for financial and personal freedom, and he suggested the royal family and officials hoped his realisation of the increased safety risk “would force us to come back”.
In a BBC television interview after losing the latest round in his court battle over his security, Harry claimed the King will not speak to him and he does not know “how much longer my father has” as he spoke of his hopes for a ‘reconciliation’ with his family.
And Tessa says even if ‘miracles’ happen and Harry and his dad reunite, it still won’t be straightforward. She added: “Harry’s warring in (His Majesty’s) courts has come to a close, the paperbacks of Spare are no longer headline news, and both Charles and his second son know that time is not on their side. Watch this space, but please don’t expect miracles.
“As Harry pertinently observed in his biography, Charles always gave ‘an air of being not quite ready for parenthood’, and bearing in mind the onerous duties of kingship, it is unlikely Charles has any more spare time now than he did then. Reconciled or not, Harry will always be on the sidelines.”
