It was obvious that things were going to change within the Royal Family when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left in 2020. Then, after the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, things took an even more dramatic turn.
Harry and Meghan made headlines around the world when they spoke out against the Firm, making comments about now-King Charles, among others. At the time it was clear tensions were high, though no one could have imagined that the royals would remain this divided for this long.
As stands, it’s not even clear whether Harry and Meghan will be welcomed at King Charles’ coronation next year. Instead, his family are said to be anxiously awaiting the contents of his new memoir, due for release later this year.
Yet though Harry’s relationships with his father and brother, Prince William, seem to be at rock bottom, it might not be too late to make amends. According to royal photographer Arthur Edwards, Charles wants his son back – but much of the responsibility will be on Harry to fix things.
Since Harry and Meghan left the Royal Family in 2020, the Prince has only been back to see his family a few times. Last year, Harry attended the funeral of Prince Philip, and just months later, he and William uncovered a new statue of their mother, Princess Diana, at Kensington Palace.
Meghan Markle didn’t join her husband on either occasion. Instead, she stayed home in Montecito, California, where the Sussexes bought their first house together.
Despite Harry reuniting with his family at the funeral for Prince Philip, tensions remained high. Harry is said to have met with his father and brother after the funeral, though he reportedly felt “ambushed” by William and Charles.
There have been many ups and downs for the royals within the last year. When Queen Elizabeth passed, Harry and Meghan traveled to the UK together. The day after the Queen’s death, they appeared alongside William and Kate Middleton, showing a united front.
According to reports, though, that gesture merely papered over cracks that are still very much there.
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For the Queen’s procession – where the male royals walked behind the coffin – Meghan Markle did not ride in the same car as Kate.
According to royal correspondent Russel Myers, with the Daily Mirror, there were careful attempts to portray a united front from Harry, William, Kate, and Meghan.
One such offering was the public walk together at Windsor Castle, which some indeed took for a reconciliation of sorts.
“There is still a serious amount of distrust”
However, Myers says that there can be no rebuilding of bridges burned until Harry has put all of his cards on the table – and after his book has either been published in full, or scrapped entirely.
“The family continues to be in mourning and are now finally being allowed to grieve for the Queen away from the gaze of millions. However, any talk of a truce between the Prince (William) and the Duke (Harry) would only be temporary,” a royal insider told Myers.
“There is still a serious amount of distrust in the air and there hasn’t been any cause for that to change,” Myers said, adding that Meghan and Kate were “not known” to have exchanged words one single time during the period when Harry and Meghan were in the UK.
Interestingly, while Harry and William’s feud can be traced back to when the Sussexes left the Royal Family, Kate and Meghan’s has endured for even longer. In fact, their relationship is said to have started to crumble at Meghan’s bridesmaid fitting, when she accused Kate of making her cry.
Meghan also claimed that the press portrayed it as though it was she who had made Kate cry, no the other way around, and alleged that Buckingham Palace did nothing to back her up side of the story.
Months before the Queen’s funeral, Harry and Meghan made a quick stop in the UK where they were supposed to meet then-Prince Charles and Camilla. Sadly, things didn’t turn out as expected.
According to royal correspondent Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan didn’t start on the right foot by arriving late.
“The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the Queen,” Nichol wrote in an extract of her book, published in Vanity Fair.