Experts Agree Prince Harry Needs To Drop One Thing If He Wants To Reunite The Royal Family
With the royal family continuing to deal with the heartbreaking death of Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Sussex's strained relationship with them is back in the headlines again — much to his annoyance. Prince Harry's friend says he's upset with the public amid the queen's death because the focus continues to be on his alleged feud with his brother William, Prince of Wales. According to The Times of London (via Page Six), the duke railed, "People need to just stop talking about all this stuff and focus on my grandmother."
Tensions are understandably high, with all eyes on the royals as they mourn their loss. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex coincidentally happened to be in the U.K. when Her Majesty's health took a steep decline but, sadly, as the New York Post confirmed, Harry didn't make it up to Scotland in time to say goodbye before she passed. The devastated prince posted a tribute to his beloved grandmother on the official Archewell website, acknowledging how much of an impact the queen had on people all over the world, as well as himself.
When the Fab Four reunited to greet well-wishers at Windsor Castle (via Sky News), it sparked renewed hope for Harry to reconcile with his family. But according to royal experts, something crucial needs to happen before they can take the next step.
Harry's upcoming memoir could be the deciding factor
As far as former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown is concerned, Prince Harry has no chance of making things right with his family if he insists on releasing his memoir. According to the Daily Mail, during an appearance on the British chat show "Lorraine," Brown acknowledged the Duke of Sussex still potentially "has a big role to play" in the monarchy, but if he's serious about reconciling, the memoir has to go.
The royal expert mused on how "this is an incredible moment to be used," especially since everybody is rooting for the brothers to work things out after seeing them back together again, "but unless he gives up his book and the tell-all documentaries and interviews then there can be no trust." Her comments echo those of Richard Fitzwilliams and Phil Dampier, who told the Daily Mail publishing the book would be a mistake.
The coming years are going to be very busy for King Charles III, and the Prince and Princess of Wales can't be expected to do everything — nor will they want to, with three young kids at home. Moreover, if the Sussexes rejoin the family they could do more good too. Last week, following extensive reports that the prince was going to push forward with releasing the memoir regardless of everything that was going on, a source clarified to The Telegraph that it won't come out until early 2023, out of respect for the queen.
The Sussexes have had a tough time since coming back
Buckingham Palace was forced to set the record straight on when Prince Harry found out about the queen's death following widespread reports that he was the last to know. Although The Telegraph published a statement clarifying that the world wasn't informed until everybody in the immediate family learned the sad news, the Daily Mail suggested the palace was trying to save face after significant public backlash. There was also reportedly an issue with reaching the Duke of Sussex at the time.
The situation grew increasingly complicated when it appeared Prince Andrew was going to be allowed to don military dress for the queen's vigil but not Harry, though King Charles III eventually acquiesced, per Newsweek. Then, Us Weekly reported the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been uninvited from a pre-funeral reception. As "Finding Freedom" co-writer Omid Scobie shared on Twitter, the event was only for working royals, so the couple simply didn't qualify, but royal watchers were still unimpressed with the move.
Clearly, tensions are running high, not least because this is an emotionally fraught time for everybody. The complete timeline of Harry's rift with the royal family showcases how long there have been issues between them. Whether he opts to kill the memoir to finally make peace remains to be seen, but suffice to say the ball is in his court — at least for now.