A friend of the Duke of Sussex has revealed that Harry is “homesick” for the UK after spending years living on the other side of the world, away from his home country and estranged family
With Prince Harry returning to the UK for the first time in five months, royal watchers are eagerly awaiting a potential reunion with the Duke of Sussex and his estranged father King Charles.
And while neither Buckingham Palace or the Sussex camp have yet confirmed if a meeting will take place, Prince Harry is making the most of his rare trip to UK shores, busying himself with a series of engagements and appearances.
Now, a friend of Prince Harry’s has claimed that the Duke of Sussex has become increasingly homesick after living in California for five years following his retirement from his royal role.
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With many of Harry’s friends and family still living in the UK, and Harry’s trips to his home country becoming less frequent, one of the prince’s friends told The Standard: “Spike (his nickname among his old school friends) is seriously homesick.
The unnamed friend went on to reveal: “He’s started reaching out to us more and more. It started with very long and earnest WhatsApps. We actually all made a decision when we started getting them not to take the piss out of them. Something we couldn’t have imagined doing a few years before. Anyway, gradually he seems to be sounding more normal.”
Harry’s friend added that whenever one of his long lost pals travels to the US, they try to catch up, but with one notable absence. They said: “Whenever anyone goes to America they try to see him. It never seems to be with Meghan though. We think he is beginning to pine for home.”
It was recently reported that Harry now ‘only has six pals in Britain’ and his small circle are unwilling to challenge the royal when he makes ‘bad decisions’.
A number of factors have contributed to Harry losing old friends and gaining new ones, such as moving to California with Meghan Markle and relations being at an all time low with Prince William.
Some of their pals may have been forced to take sides, while some appear to be wanting relationships with both brothers.
He reportedly fell out with his childhood best friend Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip after Skippy allegedly questioned the suitability of Meghan as a future royal.
According to the 2020 book Finding Freedom, Tom expressed doubts about how quickly the relationship was moving and told Harry he should live with Meghan before “doing anything more serious”.
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote that although Tom’s advice “came from a good place”, Harry “didn’t totally see it that way”.
As a result of the falling out, it was claimed Skippy and wife Lara were ‘punished’ by being excluded from Harry and Meghan’s evening wedding party at Frogmore House.
Meanwhile, another childhood friend, Guy Pelly, is said to have stayed close to Harry and to also have got to know Meghan.
Prince Harry is not the only one who is longing past relationships, as one of King Charles’ courtiers told the publication that the monarch is deeply missing his youngest son, as their difficult relationship continues into its fifth year of estrangement.
The courtier said: “Harry seems to have forgotten this but his father always absolutely adored him. He always called him ‘my darling boy’ and was so affectionate.
“People always seem to think that Harry inherited all his charm from his mother, but lots of the things he is good at, being attentive and always remembering people’s names, is something that comes directly from the King”.
As King Charles is expected to be in the UK during Harry’s visit, many royal commentators and fans alike have speculated that the estranged father and son will reunite for the first time in almost two years.
The two have not seen one another since January last year, a period in which His Majesty had been undergoing treatment for cancer. A silent truce was called between Harry and his father, as they had a meeting lasting just 30 minutes.
Harry has long expressed his desire to reconcile with King Charles and the royal family at large, with rumours of peace talks first emerging when senior aides to both Charles and Harry were spotted at a meeting in London in early July.
A US source told the Mirror that there is a strong possibility the pair will reunite, saying: “It’s clear there is now a determination on both sides to make this happen. Nobody is pretending the wider family issues have been resolved, but this is about beginning with Charles and Harry. For the first time in a long time, there’s a genuine sense that reconciliation is within reach.”
