Prince William and Kate Middleton will not meet Prince Harry when he returns to the U.K. next week as they don’t want to create unnecessary stress while she recovers from cancer, friends of the couple have told The Daily Beast.
“Both sides understand each other’s position clearly now,” said one friend of the couple. “William and Catherine felt completely betrayed by Harry’s memoir (Spare). They don’t speak to Harry and Meghan, and they are certainly not about to start when Catherine is at her most vulnerable.”
Harry’s camp have let it be known that he reached out privately to the princess after her cancer diagnosis; however, it is not known whether he is seeking a meeting this time. His spokesperson declined to comment on the matter.
Another friend, who used to be friends with both the brothers but has not had contact with Harry since he left the U.K., brushed off suggestions that Harry’s good wishes heralded a breakthrough in relations. “[Harry is] just another person who sold his story to the papers. A ‘get well soon’ message is neither here nor there. But the whole situation doesn’t use up a huge amount of their mental energy any more. William and Kate have accepted it and moved on. Cancer puts things in perspective. William respects his father’s wish to reconcile with his son, but his focus now is on protecting his family from stressful situations.”
Official sources at the palace did not respond to requests for comment from The Daily Beast about whether family members would meet with Harry. However, they are likely to have known about Harry’s impending trip for at least a fortnight as it was recently disclosed that Harry is required to give 28 days notice of trips to the U.K. so his security can be planned. He lost a recent case against the government in which he sought automatic police protection on British soil which would have given him more flexibility on travel plans.
His return to the U.K. is for a church service celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, the paralympic-style games event for wounded servicemen he established when still a working royal. He will then travel to Nigeria for another Invictus event—where he will meet his wife Meghan Markle, who is not coming to the U.K.—in what some commentators are calling an unofficial royal tour. Meghan said in 2022 that she had discovered she has 43 percent Nigerian heritage.
Spokespeople for King Charles did not respond to requests for comment about his plans next week, but a get together with his father is far more likely than a meeting with William and Kate.
Even here, however, the situation is less than straightforward as Harry is not believed to have apologized to or reconciled with Charles’ wife, Queen Camilla, which would make staying with or spending any significant amount of time with his father challenging.
“I didn’t relish losing a second parent, and I had complex feelings about gaining a stepparent, who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
— Prince Harry on Camilla in ‘Spare’
In his memoir, Prince Harry wrote of Camilla, “I didn’t relish losing a second parent, and I had complex feelings about gaining a stepparent, who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.” He also accused Camilla of leaking stories about him and his brother, Prince William to ingratiate herself with the media.
Both Charles and Camilla’s friends have spoken openly and on the record about how hurtful they found Harry’s criticisms of them.
Sir Nicholas Soames, often said to be one of the king’s best friends, excoriated Prince Harry for “hurtful” behavior of “the cruelest” kind toward his father in an interview with Times Radio before the coronation.
Camilla’s friend Fiona Shelburne, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, asked by the Sunday Times, about Harry’s attacks on Camilla in Spare, said: “Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts. But she doesn’t let it get to her. Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down—least said, soonest mended.’”
There is also a fear that Harry might publicize private meetings with his family. Less than two weeks after he met with the king he discussed the 45-minute audience with Good Morning America reporter Will Reeve.
