King Charles and Prince William Are ‘in Solid Agreement’ Prince Harry Can’t Resume an Official Royal Role: Report
It looks like a return to life as a working royal is not on the horizon for Prince Harry. Not even temporarily amid King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis. The Duke of Sussex’s father and brother, Prince William, reportedly agree he has no place representing the monarchy in an official capacity.
William and King Charles agree Harry can’t return to being a working royal
The state of King Charles’ health has the current number of working royals lower than normal. He’s undergoing treatment after being diagnosed with cancer following a brief hospital stay for an enlarged prostate.
Not to mention, William’s taken a step back from duties as his wife, Kate Middleton continues to recover at home following abdominal surgery on Jan. 16, 2024.
But the numbers aren’t so low they’d consider pulling Harry off the bench, so to speak. According to The Mirror, King Charles, 75, is “firmly of the opinion” that Harry can’t return to being a working royal.
Sources have claimed the king, as well as the Prince of Wales, along with other royals, are in “solid agreement” that Harry won’t be put to work in an official capacity.
This comes after The Times claimed Harry’s willing to “step into [a] royal role while his father is unwell.” Subsequent reports have refuted the claim, with various royal experts and commentators saying it’s simply not going to happen.
On one hand, William wouldn’t allow it. “There is a zero percent chance Harry is coming back in any capacity,” a source told The Mirror. “If anyone is going to take on more duties, it will be William, and that isn’t even on the agenda for now.”
Meanwhile, royal expert Ingrid Seward told The Telegraph “Harry is out” and “there’s no going back to a public role.”
“What would he do?” she asked. “He has got no patronages to exercise as a public figure, and for him to come back would just be a parade for Harry. It would not be a serious, proper role like the working royals have.”
The king’s cancer diagnosis hasn’t changed Harry’s exit deal from royal life
King Charles’ health has reportedly had no impact on Harry’s status as a non-working royal. In short, the royal family’s not going to ask him to represent the monarchy at a public appearance or two.
It all goes back to January 2020 when, at the so-called “Sandringham Summit,” Harry sat down with his father, brother, and late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to hash out the details of his and Meghan Markle’s exit.
Harry and Meghan’s preferred “half-in, half-out” approach didn’t get the go-ahead from the queen. Meaning the couple have remained non-working royals since relocating to California in 2020.
“The terms of the accord were very clear. And nothing that has happened recently, including the king’s illness, has changed that,” a source told the Daily Mail.
Another source claimed that while Harry and his father are on something of speaking terms, King Charles hasn’t offered his youngest son a chance at being a working royal, even on a “temporary basis.”
The king, they said, has no plans to “offload a great number of duties on other family members.”
Harry wants to see his family ‘as much’ as possible when he’s in the U.K.
The subject of returning to being a working royal aside, it seems more family get-togethers would make Harry happy.
During an interview with ABC News’ Will Reeve for Good Morning America, Harry not only reflected on visiting his father and proclaimed his love for the royal family, but he also said he has plans to return to the U.K.
Asked when he planned to return to London, England, to see his family, Harry said: “I have my own family, as we all do, right? My family and my life in California is as it is.”
Harry went on to say he’ll be back in the U.K. because he has “other trips planned.”
“I have got other trips planned that would take me through the U.K. or back to the U.K.,” he said. “I will stop in and see my family as much as I can.”
