Rumors of Prince Harry’s potential return to royal duties were unequivocally crushed Monday morning, with sources telling The Daily Beast that the king and his older son, Prince William were “totally united” on the issue and there was “no way” they would “re-royal” Harry.
The pushback came after Harry’s team last week floated in the London Times the notion that he could step back into a part-time royal position, helping out with royal jobs while his father is battling cancer. The prince was said to have told friends he would be happy to “step into a royal role while his father is unwell.”
However King Charles’ camp have made it clear the offer has been unilaterally dismissed, and that Charles and his heir are unified on the issue, and that his younger son should not return to representing the family in any official capacity, having traduced them in a number of TV shows and his memoir, Spare.
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A friend of the family’s told The Daily Beast: “William and his father are totally united on this. There is no way they are going to re-royal Harry after what he has said.”
Asked if there was a difference of opinion between Charles and William on the Harry issue, and it was accurate to say that the king wanted to rebuild the personal relationship with Harry, the friend would only say: “The king loves both his sons very much and was delighted to see Harry the other day, and of course, he wants to see more of him.”
Charles’ camp have made it clear that the king continues to build bridges with Harry, as evidenced by his 30-minute meeting with Harry earlier this month in the immediate wake of his cancer diagnosis.
However, that doesn’t mean Harry will soon be back on the balcony of Buckingham Palace waving at the crowds.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, by the paper’s respected royal reporter, Rebecca English, sources close to the monarchy have asserted that the king holds the view that Prince Harry’s return as a part-time working royal is out of the question. The king’s camp appear to have briefed that the king is “firmly of the opinion” there is no way back for Harry as a working royal “in any way, shape or form.”
Any move to rehabilitate Harry institutionally would go against the terms of the so-called “Sandringham Summit” at which the late Queen Elizabeth II made clear that a proposal by Prince Harry to have a hybrid role—part royal, part private citizen—was untenable, leading to his decision to step back from royal duties entirely to pursue a private career.
That agreement, alongside a commitment not to leverage his royal status for personal gain, especially in foreign business ventures, set the terms for his departure from royal life.
The king, despite his cancer treatment, plans to maintain his schedule with minimal adjustments. On Sunday, he was photographed walking to church on the Sandringham Estate.
Prince William is slowly returning to public duties after a hiatus to care for his wife, Kate, who had abdominal surgery in January.
Unlike his father, however, William has no desire to rebuild a personal relationship with Harry.
A source was quoted by the Mail as saying, “Have the King and Harry been speaking? Yes. Does this mean a return to the fold even on a temporary basis? No.”
The report meshes with claims made to the Daily Mirror, which cited sources close to William saying he believes Harry and Meghan “cannot be trusted” and there is “no chance” he would allow his brother back.
Harry prompted the irritation of palace insiders after he gave an interview to Good Morning America last week in which he discussed his meeting with King Charles days earlier and suggested the king’s illness could prompt a family reconciliation.
