Prince Harry blew golden chance to build bridges with fuming William & Charles… stubbornness may hurt him in the pocket
PRINCE Harry has never had a game plan in his life – and nor has he had to.
Growing up in the Royal Family, he was always told what to do and the same went for his military career. Even now, his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, appears to be the brains behind their business ventures.
But nearly a year on from the passing of our late Queen, the Duke’s relationship with his family is dangerously beyond the pale and he appears too stubborn to plot any route back, despite this very moment presenting a golden opportunity.
As the royals reflect on the passing of our late Queen, the prince will be a noticeable absence at Balmoral Castle – a private retreat that would be perfect for any tense reconciliation talks.
While he will be in the country on September 8, it’s claimed he has “no intention” of reuniting with King Charles, Queen Camilla, nor his brother Prince William.
Instead, it’s believed Harry will attend a charity event the night before the one-year anniversary without Meghan Markle, before flying off the next day to Dusseldorf for the Invictus Games.
William no longer speaks to his brother, nor does he appear to want to.
He may rightly feel resentful having been left with such a massive workload by Harry, who made his choice to ‘leg it’ and leave his old life behind.
Charles likely has mixed feelings about his wayward son, having weathered the slings from his memoir Spare and subsequent scorn-filled interviews.
Most notably, the allegation that Camilla sacrificed Harry to improve her public image will have left deep scars.
Yet, despite the huge deterioration in trust, I suspect Charles would be open to having a relationship with Harry so long as he no longer tried to push him around.
And a visit to Balmoral – the secluded spot where the Queen was happiest – could have been the perfect place for that to happen.
Perfect opportunity
Away from prying eyes, they could have had valuable family time in private to tackle this very difficult situation and start to rebuild their relationship.
All Harry would have had to do was pick up the phone, speak to his father and ask if he could stay with him.
Despite reports that there has been “no outreach” to the Sussexes from the royal household, I doubt Charles would be strong enough or unkind enough to say no if he was asked personally by his son.
Yet I suspect the Duke was too stubborn to do that and felt the Scottish retreat was a step too far for him, both literally and emotionally.
Flying from California and then up to Scotland before an hour-long drive to Balmoral is logistically impractical.
But more importantly, it will be an emotional place for Harry as it was the last place he saw his grandmother alive.
In the lead-up to Queen Elizabeth II’s death, their relationship had seen better days and it was known that she was hurt by some of his actions.
However, Her Majesty never held a grudge and, more than nearly anyone, her grandson could always make her smile.
Like his mother, Princess Diana, Harry has a quick wit and he reminded the Queen of a young Prince Philip.
Had Harry extended his journey and stayed at Balmoral, he may have found peace and reflected on these happier times – despite the difficulty of facing up to some members of his family.
Returning to the UK is a tricky and isolating task for Harry, as there’s now nothing left for him here.
I’m sure he is aware of how unpopular he is and his once close-knit group of friends are now either married, scattered across the country or not in the UK at all.
It’s a far cry from the time when he attended shooting parties or went out drinking with friends – that little world doesn’t exist anymore.
Harry certainly enjoys a much quieter life in the US and has a beautiful home that’s a big improvement from Frogmore Cottage.
Some of the Sussexes’ business deals – in particular, their high-profile work with Netflix and Spotify – haven’t gone to plan, but all it can take is for one to go right and they will be back in the money.
Ironically, those dealings could actually be aided by a reconciliation with the Royal Family, as it would return the golden stardust the couple needs to break them apart from the scores of other celebrities in California.
Meghan has had to hustle throughout her acting life and is a savvy operator when it comes to their business deals.
Should any family reconciliation be on the cards, she may very well pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
But for any plan to truly take off, it will need to come from Harry himself – and no one else.