The late Queen’s former press secretary has said that expecting the Royal Family to welcome Prince Harry back into the Firm is a ‘big ask’, despite his recent olive branch interview.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, reportedly told friends he would return to Britain to help with royal duties while his father undergoes cancer treatment.
The pair have had several ‘warm exchanges’ since the monarch’s diagnosis with an unspecified type of cancer, it was claimed last night.
But after the release of Spare, the Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan and the explosive Oprah interview almost three years ago, a royal expert has said Harry has little chance of being invited back into the royal fold.
Dickie Arbiter, Queen Elizabeth’s former press secretary, said he does not see ‘a forthcoming invitation from the family,’ adding in the words of the late Queen, ‘you are either in or out’.
He told : ‘A visit of 30 minutes, where he said he was lucky to jump on the plane after almost four years of antagonising, is not going to pave over the cracks – not to mention his brother and the rest of the family.
The Duke of Sussex , 39, reportedly told friends he would return to Britain to help with royal duties while his father undergoes cancer treatment
After Meghan and Harry’s docuseries, Oprah interview and Spare, a royal expert says that asking the royal family to welcome the Duke back into the Firm is a ‘big ask’
‘He has rubbished them for four years. I don’t see a forthcoming invitation from the family (to come back). You have got to remember the late Queen made it very clear either you are in or you are out.
‘Making these sort of olive branch offers to come in and help the family, there’s still the question of his commercial obligations – they won’t go away. It goes right against the grain of what the late Queen said.
‘Suggesting coming back would inevitably mean public appearances – but there is the question of whether the British public would want to see him.
‘We must remember he did the interview when Prince Philip was very sick and the Queen was suffering from mobility issues, and getting frailer by the day – all this was happening while Harry and Megan were doing their thing rubbishing the family.
‘We had one hour of Oprah, six hours of Netflix and over 400 pages of Harry’s book, Spare. Are we asking the royal family to turn the other cheek? That’s a big ask.’
The Duke threw around many accusations of the royal family in Spare, along with alleging that he had a physical fight with his brother and heir to the throne, Prince William.
He claimed the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar and threw him to the floor, while shattering a dog bowl with his back. William then allegedly declared: ‘I didn’t attack you, Harold’.
The furious row allegedly broke out in the kitchen of his London home, Nottingham Cottage, in the grounds of Kensington Palace in 2019 – shortly before Megxit.
A royal source earlier told The Times that Charles, 75, is keen to reconcile and see more of his son, and believes doing so would benefit the monarchy
In Spare, Harry claimed the Prince of Wales grabbed him by the collar and thew him to the floor, while shattering a dog bowl with his back
In Spare, Harry called his mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ in his memoir and alleged she had ‘sacrificed him’ to improve her reputation
At the end of 2022, Harry and Meghan’s docuseries came out, where Prince Harry claimed they had to quit royal duties to ‘protect’ his wife and said there was a ‘huge level of unconscious bias’ in the Royal Family
He also called his mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ in his memoir and alleged she had ‘sacrificed him’ to improve her reputation.
At the end of 2022, Harry and Meghan’s docuseries came out, where Prince Harry claimed they had to quit royal duties to ‘protect’ his wife and said there was a ‘huge level of unconscious bias’ in the Royal Family.
He claimed that the pair made the docuseries to combat so-called ‘misinformation’ about them.
In March 2021, the Sussexes appeared on Oprah following ‘Megxit’ and alleged that some members of the royal family questioned ‘how dark [Archie’s] skin might be when he’s born’.
Meghan also told Oprah that her and Kate that there was a disagreement before the Wedding, but alleged that the future Queen actually made her cry, rather than the other way round.
Harry told the host that the pair left the Firm because of ‘lack of support and lack of understanding,’ and claimed that his father, Charles, had ‘stopped taking his calls’.
In his latest olive branch interview with Good Morning America, during his trip to Whistler, Canada, Harry said that his father’s illness could have a ‘reunifying effect’ on the family.
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 last week.
A royal source earlier told The Times that Charles, 75, is keen to reconcile and see more of his son, and believes doing so would benefit the monarchy.
The source told newspaper: ‘On all practical levels it makes perfect sense for the family to come together to support the King while he’s sick.
Harry threw around many accusations of the royal family in Spare, along with alleging that he had a physical fight with his brother and heir to the throne, Prince William. Pictured: William, Charles and Harry in 2014
In 2021, Meghan told Oprah that her and Kate that there was a disagreement before the Wedding, but alleged that the future Queen actually made her cry, rather than the other way round
Harry 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 last week
Meghan is pictured at a training session for Curling competitors at the Invictus Games in Canada yesterday
If Harry was to return to royal life, a written plan would reportedly need to be drawn up by Charles and his aides before the Duke could return to taking on any official duties
‘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.
‘The details of the Clarence House meeting and subsequent conversations are private, but the feeling is that this arrangement could work.’
But Mr Arbiter said: ‘I can’t see it going anywhere. Harry did suggest in the interview it could result in a reconciliation, but it is not much different to the comment he made almost two years ago when he dropped in on the Queen and told the Today show (on NBC) he was just making sure she was protected and had the right people around her.
‘He is good at the soundbite but this whole Whistler trip seems like a great big PR fest off the back of launching their website.
‘He has said too many things, like the fact he had thought about American citizenship – and that means you have to drop everything and became a plain ‘Mister’.
‘There are so many things he has said that do not add up – he would have to give a lot up and I don’t think he is in a position to do so. He is not ready to give up the brand.
‘And let us not forget – the King is still working and undertaking his constitutional duty. What he is not doing is going out on the road, which he will be very sorry about because he likes to meet people.
‘He has not stopped doing anything. The wheels of monarchy will continue to turn and they have continued to turn without Harry.’
If Harry was to return to royal life, a written plan would reportedly need to be drawn up by Charles and his aides before the Duke could return to taking on any official duties.
The couple have come under fire in recent days over their new Sussex.com website, in particular Meghan’s coat of arms – which critics claim is a breach of their promise to the late Queen Elizabeth when they acrimoniously quit front-line royal duties.
Their decision to change their children Archie and Lilibet’s surnames to Sussex has also raised eyebrows among royal watchers.
The moves have sparked a fresh round of criticism of the Duke and Duchess and renewed calls for the duo to have their titles removed. But a representative said the couple ‘will not be broken’.
They added: ‘We’ve heard time and time again that certain opportunities are make or break for the couple. They’re still here. They’re still working and pursuing what they believe in, despite being constantly challenged and criticized. This couple will not be broken.’
Last night, Buckingham Palace declined to comment on reports.