A royal watcher suggested Harry’s return will be welcome news for the monarch, but also a “new problem”.
King Charles faces a problem, according to an expert (Image: Getty)
King Charles III has a “new problem” following Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle’s return to the UK with their two young children, a royal commentator says. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in early 2020, subsequently moving to California and making efforts to become financially independent.
Tensions have simmered between Harry and members of the firm in the years since, after his and Meghan’s public criticism. Harry detailed his alleged disputes with elder brother and heir to the thone Prince William, as well as his unhappiness as a central figure in the firm in his bombshell, best-selling memoir Spare. The move is believed to have added to the frosty atmosphere between him and the famously private family. On top of that, Harry’s so-far unsuccessful efforts to have state-funded security equal to that of senior royals restored – a decision made by an independent government body, not the royals – is thought to have been another source of friction.
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The Prince has insisted it’s neccessary given the level of threat to his family, despite him no longer undertaking frontline responsibilities for the King. Despite the reported rift between the Palace and the Sussexes, the Duke has made short trips to see the King, who is undergoing cancer treatment, and visited him with with Meghan and their children in July.
Since 2020, speculation has swirled over when and if the royal would one day return to live and Britain and put rows with the Palace behind him.
Only last week, it was reported that the Sussexes would be making a surprise return to Britain, with their two children enrolling in schools here, though they wouldn’t be returning to frontline royal duties. They have since arrived back in the UK.
What’s not known is the state of the relationship between Harry and Meghan and rest of the senior royal family, but a former long-time BBC Royal Correspondent says the fractured relationship between the Duke and his older brother is “untenable” and should be resolved.
Speaking to Sky News, Jenny Bond was asked about what her sources were telling her about how the King and Prince William are feeling about Harry being back, saying it will be welcome news for the monarch, but also a “new problem”.
“I think for Charles, it’s his darling boy is coming home,” she said. “Charles is going to be 78 in November, he’s a man living with cancer, I don’t that’s a prime reason for them coming back, but it must be part of the equation.
“So Charles has this new problem on his hands, of how to juggle his relationships with his two sons back in the UK, feeling immensely loyal to his son and heir, William, who has stood by [him] through thick and thin in the last six years and who is immensely loyal to the monarchy and the job.
“And Harry, so if you bring Harry close are you going to offend the other one deeply, or is William going to face up to what I think is the fact of the matter, that as things stand, it’s untenable just never to speak to your brother again, isn’t it? And possibly unneccessary.”
Ms Bond said an apology “would be nice” from Harry and Meghan “because they have said and done things that have been deeply hurtful”.
She added: “A recognition, acknowledgement from the Palace that they could have done things better, perhaps. That all could be done privately, then surely, surely they can all move forward, and we can move forward and be forward and be civil.”
Ms Bond said the brothers don’t have to be best friends, “but can they not have a civil and curteous relationship?”
The royal watcher noted that the 29th anniversary of the death of Harry and William’s mother Princess Diana, who tragically lost her life in a car crash in 1997, is coming up on Monday, August 31, with the 30th anniversary next year.
Speaking about how the occasion will be marked in 2027, she said: “There are events planned, there will be commemorations, are they going to both be there? Neither of them be there? Are they going to be there and look in different directions?
“I don’t see how it can continue like this.”