Prince Harry has made it clear that he’s willing to make up with his royal relatives recently, and by the sounds of it, he’s continuing on that trajectory towards potential peace. In latest news, the Duke of Sussex has allegedly “offered to share his official diary engagements with the Royal Family,” as reported by the Daily Mail.
This move, if true, is a real olive branch, whose aim is to avoid Harry’s public engagements clashing with major royal moments – which can lead to both camps fighting for media coverage and one overshadowing the other. The most salient example of this recently was when Harry visited Angola, retracing his late mother’s steps in a minefield there, which of course was a deeply poignant moment that prompted a lot of press coverage. However, the visit coincided with the Queen’s 78th birthday, and the portrait that was shared of her for the occasion drew very little attention. Harry offering his schedule would hopefully prevent this kind of clash in the future.
This news follows a fairly historic meeting between two reps for the Sussexes and one for Buckingham Palace earlier this month. King Charles’ press secretary Tobyn Andreae, Sussex PR rep Liam Maguire and Sussex CCO Meredith Maines all met at a private members’ club in London. The meeting showed that the King is open to a potential reconciliation; however, Prince William’s exclusion is equally telling.
One insider told the Daily Mail at the time: “Tobyn Andreae is director of communications for the whole royal household so in that sense could be seen to be representing the Prince and Princess of Wales but, in reality, they run their own operation. Many things have been said that probably everyone regrets but if there is reconciliation, it’s likely that William and Kate are going to be a tougher nut to crack than the King.”
They added: “I’d be surprised if William wasn’t aware that it was going ahead. His office and Team Sussex have coordinated in the past, even when the two brothers weren’t speaking, over events for the Diana Award or the unveiling of the Diana statue. But relations have been increasingly strained even at that level between the Sussexes and both the King’s and William’s offices.”
Harry previously said in a BBC interview that he “would love reconciliation” with his father and family. Their relationships have been deeply strained since the Duke and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals in 2020, then went on to make explosive revelations about the royals in the media. William is said to be completely closed to the idea of a reconciliation.