Prince Harry is eager to show he can be trusted by the Royal family, but his future won’t be decided by King Charles, warns a Royal expert.
The Duke of Sussex surprised everyone with an interview on US breakfast TV last week, where he briefly discussed his meeting with his father after his cancer diagnosis was made public, reports the Mirror.
The interview came just before rumours suggested that Harry – who has previously criticised his family in his Netflix series and controversial memoir Spare – might be ready to take on a temporary Royal role while his father receives cancer treatment.
Royal historian Dr Tessa Dunlop thinks Harry’s interview shows his desire to be trusted, but it might be too late.
She told the Mirror: “Harry and Meghan spent three busy days in British Columbia, Canada, encouraging competitors for the inaugural Invictus Winter Games. But it wasn’t the prince’s ‘commitment to serve’ that made the news. It was his brief mentions of family (not Archie and Lilibet) that grabbed everyone’s attention.”
“Harry was straightforward. As soon as his father told him he had cancer he jumped on a plane and visited the King.”
She added: “The problem is that Harry does not belong to any family. The tragic slice of time he was granted with ailing King Charles (despite the air miles and cost) is indicative of the rarified world the Duke’s father occupies.”
Despite hints that Harry might be able to mend fences with his father, it’s not Charles he needs to convince, she said.
Dr Dunlop explained: “Parents often forgive their children, and Charles has never turned his back on Harry, despite his son’s revelations in book and Netflix form. But the long-term future of the Royal family doesn’t rest with the gentle monarch, but his eldest son, William.
She added: “It was Harry in Canada who said that when service personnel get hurt, ‘the whole family gets hurt’. The same could be said for his own family. When he left Britain, an emotionally wounded Prince Harry lashed out and chose the tell-all route.”
“In doing so, he hurt his family. His brother, William, is still in pain; recovery may take a while. Harry will have to wait a bit longer for that reconciliation. Lucky then that he says he loves ‘every single day’ of living in California.”
