Prince Harry doesn’t spend time with his family across the pond.
The Duke of Sussex is currently in the UK for a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games, and although he had time in his schedule, he won’t get an audience with his father, King Charles IIIor brother Prince William during his visit.
“He doesn’t have many other plans,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET about the duke. “Of course he was hoping to see his family. Maybe that’s why the trip took three days… but as we now know, there will be no family reunions.”
Likewise, no member of the royal family showed up to attend Harry’s event, a stark contrast to when he launched the games a decade ago.
“If you look at the first Invictus Games in 2014, he had support from his father and Prince William,” Nicholl said. “…You could see the wonderful closeness between Charles and his sons and you could see how lucky Harry was to have the support of his older brother.”
“Considering this is the 10th anniversary, this felt a little flat, I think it’s fair to say,” she added. “He definitely cut a pretty lonely figure…He seemed like an outsider here in Britain.”
The lack of meetings was particularly notable, Nicholl said, as Harry and Charles were “at a distance” from each other at different events.
“I certainly think that the fact that no time was created for a meeting between father and son in those three days – considering that their last meeting only lasted about 30 or 40 minutes, when Harry came all the way from California flew.” to see his father – certainly feeds the narrative of a rift.
Still, Nicholls’ sources say “the king is very, very keen to mend his relationship with his son.”
“He’s desperate to be near his son again and see more of his grandchildren, who he’s barely seen since they were born,” Nicholl said of Harry and Meghan MarkleThe children Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 2.
For this reason, Nicholl said, “There is a sense of surprise that he didn’t make time to see his son.”
However, the “fundamental problem” remains because, according to Nicholl, there has been “this loss of trust between Harry and the family”.
“Obviously there are still some pretty big trust issues and concerns on Charles’ part that any private meetings or conversations he has with his son may not stay private for long,” she said. “I think Harry is going to have to work really hard to rebuild some of that trust before he gets some sort of privileged audience with his father.”
Knowing that, Nicholl said she believes “there’s just a sense of disappointment, certainly on Harry’s side, and real sadness that he didn’t get to see his father.”
“If you take away the divide and who it is in terms of the royal family, they are a family and Harry has been through a lot since he found out his father was diagnosed with cancer,” Nicholl said. “He’s miles away and is understandably very worried about his dad, as he calls him, and he’s here for three days. I think it was his great hope that he would see his father. I was told he was pretty hurt and pretty disappointed he didn’t have that opportunity.
An additional disappointment for Harry could be the fact that on Wednesday Charles appointed William to become a colonel in the Army Air Corps, a role the king held for 31 years. However, it was Harry who completed several tours in Afghanistan, serving in the very unit that William will lead.
“I think a lot of people will see this as a bit of a snub to the palace and perhaps a bit of a jab in the ribs to Prince Harry… He’s been stripped of the right to wear his military uniform, and now his too.” “The brother has that Role taken on that…Harry would certainly have expected to come to him if he had still been a working member of the royal family.” Nicholl told ET. “I think the timing is really poignant. I think it’s probably another slap in the face for Prince Harry and another reminder that he’s more on the outside than in when it comes to the royal family.”
With that in mind, Harry and Meghan are not expected to be invited to Trooping the Color in June.
“I think it’s incredibly unlikely,” Nicholl said. “They are not working members of the royal family. I think for the King, that prestigious spot at the top of the Buckingham Palace balcony is reserved for working family members. I’m sure people will read a lot about the family conflict. We know there is a great distance between Harry and his family, but as to whether he has the right to be on the palace balcony, he lost that right when he resigned as a working member of the company.
Nevertheless, Nicholl believes that Charles, who is currently battling cancerHe will make every effort to see Harry and his family before the end of the year.
“Harry has said that he had hoped that he would be able to reunite with the family given the adversity of his father’s illness. That is clearly his intention,” she said. “As far as I know, the king also wants to somehow rekindle his relationship with his son. He loves his son, it will certainly be the King’s hope that he will see Harry and his family sometime later this year.
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