Prince Harry isn’t spending time with his family while he’s across the pond.
The Duke of Sussex is currently in the UK for a ceremony to mark the 10-year anniversary of his Invictus Games, and despite having time in his schedule, he there will be no audience with your father, King Charles IIIor brother Prince William during your visit.
“He doesn’t have many other plans,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET of the duke. “He hoped, of course, to see his family. Possibly that’s why the trip lasted three days… but as we now know, there will be no family reunions.”
Likewise, no members of the royal family attended Harry’s event, which is a stark contrast to when he launched the Games a decade ago.
“When you look at the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014… he had the support of his father and Prince William,” Nicholl said. “…You could see that wonderful closeness between Charles and his children, and you could see how happy Harry was to have the support of his older brother.”
“When you consider this is the 10th anniversary, it seems a little dull, I think it’s fair to say,” she added. “He was certainly a rather lonely figure… He seemed like a stranger here in Britain.”
The lack of meeting up is particularly noteworthy, Nicholl said, as Harry and Charles were “within walking distance” of each other at separate events.
“I think certainly the fact that there was no time in those three days for father and son to have any kind of meeting – when you consider that their last meeting was only 30 or 40 minutes when Harry came from California. seeing his father – certainly feeds into this narrative of a break-up.
Still, Nicholl’s sources say “the King is very, very interested in getting his relationship with his son back on track.”
“He really wants to be close to his son again and see more of his grandchildren, who he has barely seen since they were born,” Nicholl said of Harry and Meghan MarkleChildren Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 2.
Because of this, Nicholl said, “There is a sense of surprise that he didn’t have time to see his son.”
The “fundamental issue” remains, however, as there was “this breach of trust between Harry and the family”, according to Nicholl.
“Clearly, there are still some trust issues and significant concerns on Charles’ part that any private meetings or conversations he has with his son may not remain private for long,” she said. “I think Harry will have to work hard to repair some of that trust before he can get some sort of privileged audience with his father.”
Knowing this, Nicholl said he believes “there is just a feeling of disappointment, certainly on Harry’s part, and a genuine sadness that he hasn’t seen his father.”
“When you take away the division and who they are in terms of the royal family, they are family, and Harry has been through a lot since finding out his father was diagnosed with cancer,” Nicholl said. “He’s so many miles away, understandably very worried about his father, as he calls him, and he’s been here for three days. I think it was his hope to see his father. quite hurt and quite disappointed that I didn’t have that opportunity.”
Further disappointment for Harry may come from the fact that on Wednesday Carlos appointed Guilherme to be Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps, a role the king held for 31 years. It was Harry, however, who served on several missions in Afghanistan, serving in the same unit that William will be in charge of.
“I think a lot of people will see this as a kind of snub from the palace, and perhaps a little poke in the ribs of Prince Harry… He was deprived of the right to wear his military uniform, and now his brother has taken on the role that… Harry would certainly hope it was for him if he were still a working member of the royal family,” Nicholl told ET. “I think the moment feels poignant. I think it’s probably yet another slap in the face to Prince Harry, and yet another reminder that he’s very much out of place, not in, when it comes to the royal family.”
With that in mind, Harry and Meghan are not expected to be invited to June’s Trooping the Color.
“I think it’s incredibly unlikely,” Nicholl said. “They are not working members of the royal family. I think for the king that prestigious place on the balcony of Buckingham Palace is reserved for working family members. between Harry and his family, but in terms of whether he has a right to be on the palace balcony, he lost that right when he stepped down as a working member of the company.”
Even so, Nicholl believes that Charles, who is currently fighting cancerwill make an effort to see Harry and his family before the end of the year.
“Harry said he hoped that, given the adversity of his father’s illness, he would be reunited with his family. It is clearly his intention,” she said. “My understanding is that the king also wants to rekindle his relationship with his son. He loves his son. , it will certainly be the king’s hope that he will be able to see Harry and his family at some point later this year.”
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