Reports have suggested that Prince Harry is keen to spend more time in the UK and be welcomed back within the royal fold – and there have been several signs that he could be keen for this to happen
Prince Harry on a trip to the UK in May (
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It’s been more than four years since Prince Harry dropped the bombshell that he and Meghan Markle were sensationally quitting their royal roles.
They quickly upped sticks from the UK to move to California, where they have spent the last few years trying to carve out new careers amid bitter feuds with their royal relatives, including King Charles and Prince William.
However, according to new reports, Harry is seemingly tired of life in the United States and is keen to spend more time in the UK – potentially repairing the rift with his father and even being welcomed back into the royal fold.
Harry at the Coronation last year (
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Getty Images)
According to the Mail On Sunday, the Duke of Sussex has contacted aides from his former royal life as well as old pals in a bid to try and get moving in UK circles again. And it seems there have been several signs that Harry might be willing to move on from the past and reconnect with life back in his homeland…
Seeking counsel
One way in which it seems Harry is keen to reconnect is by reportedly seeking advice from people he knew when he was a working royal after growing dissatisfied with advice from those based in the US.
Just last month, it emerged his chief of staff Josh Kettler had left his post after just three months on the job. A source told the Mail On Sunday: “Harry is turning away from all sorts of Hollywood publicists and is seeking counsel from his old friends and associates. He is clearly reaching out thinking, ‘I need to do something different because what I’m doing is clearly not working’. In short, he is rethinking the way he operates.”
Surprise texts
Meanwhile, the publication also reports that Harry has sent conciliatory WhatsApp messages to old pals, who are ready to help him back to a partial life in the UK. Sources say a permanent move back to Britain is not on the cards.
Harry and Meghan on their trip to Colombia (
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Archewell Foundation via Getty I)
However, some friends are reportedly calling the task to pave the way for some life in the UK “Operation Bring Harry In From The Cold”. A source also told The Sun : “Harry is feeling more and more isolated in California, which is why he has been reconnecting with old friends back home.
“The Colombia trip also really highlighted how Meghan is comfortable stepping into the spotlight, while Harry cuts a very sulky, unhappy figure in the background. He wants to carve out a way back into royal life back in the UK and is seeking counsel from old friends and associates.”
Shock Spare update
If Harry wants to move in UK circles again, it could be that he has to improve the ongoing feud with his royal relatives.
Just last week, there were reports King Charles could be keen to bury the hatchet with his younger son. And one move that may have caused them a sigh of relief and could even have been seen as an olive branch is to do with his controversial memoir Spare.
The Duke of Sussex used the tell-all book to make various claims about his family including that Prince William called his wife Meghan Markle ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’ and pushed him into a dog bowl, that King Charles was jealous of the Prince and Princess of Wales and that Charles refused to allow Meghan to join her husband in Scotland as the late Queen was dying.
Harry’s controversial memoir Spare (
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Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
It has been announced by publisher Penguin that Spare, first published in January 2023, will be re-released in October in a paperback version. Usually, when a paperback version of a non-fiction book is released, additional chapters or updated information is included in the new format.
However, in what has been seen as a potential olive branch to Charles, William and the rest of the royals, the paperback version of Spare will not contain any new information. It will have the same cover image in a newly designed package, however, the “contents of the book are unchanged”.
Book silence
When Spare was first released almost two years ago, Harry embarked on a blitz of publicity to promote it.
He gave several revealing interviews to go with it, including one with ITV’s Tom Bradby where he denied calling the Royal Family ‘racist’ in his infamous interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Harry with King Charles and Prince William (
Image:
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But according to the Daily Mail, Harry does not plan to give any more interviews to promote the new paperback edition. A friend of his told the publication: “The paperback was a part of the book deal he signed, but he is not contractually obliged to promote this edition. The reason it has taken longer than usual for the paperback to be published is that the more expensive hardback was still selling well.”
Bombshell offer
It’s not just in the last few weeks where signs have begin to show on Harry’s hope for a partial UK return.
As far back as February, there were reports the Duke of Sussex, who turns 40 in a few weeks, was willing to help out the Royal Family amid a health crisis. Back in February, it was claimed Harry was willing to step into a temporary royal role while his father undergoes cancer treatment – and also while the Princess of Wales faced her health challenges.
The source told The Times : “On all practical levels it makes perfect sense for the family to come together to support the King while he’s sick. Much has been said on both sides in recent years, but that has never diminished the fundamental bond of blood, and there are now pragmatic aspects to consider, with the King and Kate’s wellbeing paramount in this.”
It came after Harry suggested the King’s illness could lead to a reconciliation with his father in an interview with a US breakfast show back in February. Harry also said I “love my family” and that he was “grateful” to be able to spend time with his father when he flew back to the UK after his father’s cancer diagnosis was revealed.