Slowly but surely, Prince Harry has been trying to make amends for turning his back so publicly on his family, from making secret trips to the UK to extending olive branches to his cancer-stricken father.
Now royal insiders say the peace talks between King Charles’ aides and the Sussex camp last week is just the start of Harry’s reintegration into royal life – and he’s willing to leave his wife Meghan behind in California if it means he’ll be welcomed back with open arms!
“He reluctantly accepts his family hate her so there’s no sense involving her in peace talks because they’d turn him down flat if he were to try,” a source says.
“So Harry’s new tactic is to do this solo. He’s willing to fly to the UK, set up mediation meetings, whatever they’ll agree to. He’s tried before, but the royals baulked because he insisted on bringing Meghan. Now he’s even offered to leave her at home for the Invictus Games if the royals agree to attend.”
MAKING AMENDS
Some see last week’s London meeting of the opposing royal sides as the clearest indication that a reconciliation between Charles, 76, and Harry, 40, is around the corner, coming up
to six years since the prince quit the royal family.
Yet it’s taken a lot of work behind the scenes for the King to even come around to the idea of a reunion with his youngest son, who together with Meghan has done one tell-all after another, damaging the royal family’s reputation.
Despite insisting he had no regrets over his actions, the gravity of his father’s cancer has weighed on Harry over time.
“Life is precious,” he said in May.
“I don’t know how much longer my father has – he won’t speak to me… but it would be nice to reconcile.”
Insiders say the prince has been reflecting on all that’s happened since he and Meghan started over in Montecito, where they’re raising six-year-old son Archie and his little sister, Lilibet, four.
And one thing’s become crystal clear – there’s little chance the royals will ever be accepting of Meghan, who hasn’t been back to the UK since Queen Elizabeth died in 2022.
“They clearly have no warmth or respect towards Meghan. That pains him, but the longer he reflects, the easier it is for Harry to be more pragmatic and less emotional about the whole scenario,” the insider says.
“He still holds out hope that one day his family will find it in their hearts to give Meghan a chance but the best solution for now is to keep them apart – and try to salvage what he can of his own relationship with his family.”
WHAT ABOUT WILLS?
As Harry and Charles take steps to mend their relationship, one member of the family not on board is Prince William.
Word in the royal circles is that William, 43, will “never forgive Harry” for turning his back on his family, and his team weren’t a part of the recent meeting of the aides.
Royal expert Hugo Vickers says William is still reeling over the “barbs” directed at he and wife Catherine in Harry’s memoir.
“I think William is likely to be more of an unforgiving person than his father,” he says.
