The royal family is dealing with its biggest upheaval since, well, tragically not all that long ago right now, following the announcement that King Charles has been diagnosed with cancer. It’s obviously common for families, even those with deep differences, to reunite during the illness of a parent like this, so there has been widespread speculation that estranged son Prince Harry could return to the embrace of the royal family during this difficult time for the Windsors.
The Times even published an article claiming that just this could happen, claiming that Harry himself was “keen” to re-enter the frame following the downturn of his father’s health in order to help out with royal duties. Especially as his sister-in-law, Princess of Wales Kate Middleton, is also suffering from a mysterious illness herself at present.
However, this possibility has now been refuted in no uncertain terms by multiple sources with knowledge of the royals. In short, apparently there’s “no hope in hell” of a family reunion on the horizon. Here’s why…
There’s “no way back” home for Prince Harry, insiders claim
When speaking about The Times‘ article during The Daily Mail‘s Palace Confidential, royal correspondent Rebecca English (a wonderful example of nominative determination there) declared that there is “no hope in hell” of this outcome transpiring, and that she suspects the piece in question was “heavily briefed” by Harry’s reps. “That immediately rang alarm bells with me because I just know it is not their thinking,” English claimed, about the article, “so I made some calls and was told almost immediately ‘absolutely not, there has not even been a casual conversation about that here.'”
What’s more, The Mirror‘s own royal expert Tom Quinn has alleged much the same thing, declaring that there’s “no way back” to the family’s embrace for Harry. Quinn shared that succession planning has already begun behind closed doors, with the fact that this has begun sooner than expected “indicates perhaps that Charles’ cancer is more dangerous than we have been led to believe.” As would be expected, Prince William, the heir to the throne, is said to be “at the heart of the succession planning.”
In contrast, William’s younger brother is supposedly being left out in the cold, for one galling reason. “Succession planning is highly secret and no one trusts Harry to be part of it for the simple reason that if he feels in any way slighted or not given what he feels he deserves he will run straight to the media,” Quinn revealed. Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, in which he aired many of his grievances and private recollections about his experiences as a royal, is noted to be a major reason for the lack of trust in him.
This is all just tabloid reporting for now, but it’s not hard to believe that Harry’s being snubbed amid succession planning, considering that his line is now far down the pecking order. For the real, nitty-gritty details of the story, we’ll probably have to wait for the Netflix drama that invariably gets made about this period in about 10 years’ time.