Prince William sees “no reason” to talk to his brother Harry after Harry’s latest comments and the end of his legal fight over taxpayer-funded security.
The Duke of Sussex is now “more distant than ever” from making peace with the Royal Family after his interview on the BBC last Friday. Harry upset his family by giving a 30-minute TV interview from his home in California shortly after the Court of Appeal announced its decision. Royal insiders say both the King and Prince William feel they have “no incentive” to speak with Harry, explaining that there is “a serious trust problem” between them.
An insider shared that the Duke’s choice to speak out about his family and his current situation is likely to push him even further away from the reconciliation he says he is hoping for.
According to the source, the biggest problem for the family is a serious lack of trust whenever they even consider having a conversation with him.
The insider added, “There is certainly no incentive to do so when he is so free to openly criticise and only ever present one view, being his.”
Around the time of the late Queen’s death, senior royals asked Harry to ease off on his public criticisms of the family.
Members of the royal family, including Princess Anne, told him that the attacks needed to stop if he ever hoped to rebuild trust and repair his relationship with the King and Prince William.
One insider shared: “It has been put to him that he should consider a different path from the one taken if he ever wanted to reconcile.”
Some sources believe Harry’s comment that “some members of my family will never forgive” him for writing his memoir Spare might not actually be true.
People close to the situation say Harry may have closed the door on a chance to make peace by continuing to hurt his father and brother.
The source explained: “The King is a Christian and a good man. Forgiveness is central to that.”
“But how can anyone forget the events of the past five years when they are repeated so often? The whole episode is as exhausting as it is sad.”
In his interview, the Duke said he hopes to make peace with the royal family, but also mentioned that his father is not speaking to him at the moment.
He added that he does not know how much time the King has left, as the King is still undergoing treatment for cancer.
On Saturday, royal insiders said it was in bad taste to talk publicly about how long the King might live.
One Palace source said: “If there were anxieties about things remaining private, Friday will not have done them the power of good.”
They also said the interview showed that “nothing that can be trusted to remain private.”
Another insider commented: “For a son who claims to want a reconciliation, it’s a curious way to build bridges.
“His beloved grandmother would have been horrified.
“The King is a kind man with a warm heart – and quite enough on his plate to deal with, without all this from his son.”
Harry’s interview took place just a few days before the country comes together to mark VE Day.
The interview aired after Harry lost his case at the Court of Appeal about his security arrangements in the UK.
When he stepped away from royal duties in 2020, his level of security was reduced.
Now, he has to inform officials ahead of any trips to the UK so they can review his security needs each time.
Harry is worried that having to share his travel plans in advance could make it easier for someone to plan an attack on him.
In the interview, Harry, 40, said: “There have been so many disagreements between myself and some of my family. Of course, they’ll never forgive me for lots of things but there’s no point in continuing to fight any more.”
“Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. It would be nice to reconcile.”
A close friend of the King has claimed that Harry tends to see hidden motives whenever things don’t go the way he wants.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, they said: “Even when he speaks of reconciliation, it’s laced with threats and anger.”
They added: “It’s not that the King won’t speak to him, it’s that he can’t.”
“How can you have a private and delicate conversation when you know it’s going to end up on a news special within hours?”
They also said: “Perhaps if he tried to earn, rather than demand, a reconciliation, things might go a little better.”
In response to the Duke’s comments, Buckingham Palace said: “All these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion on each occasion.”