Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Reuniting With Kate Middleton and Prince William Is ‘Hard to Even Envision’, Royal Expert Says
The “Fab Four” — Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge — reuniting soon isn’t likely, according to a royal expert.
Despite Harry’s recent reunion with fellow royals, including his brother and sister-in-law, it will likely be some time before the Sussexes and the Cambridges are the “Fab Four” again.
Prince Harry saw his family at Prince Philip’s funeral
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, died on April 9, 2021. 30 people attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II’s husband and William and Harry’s grandfather on April 17, 2021.
Many eyes around the world were on the brothers. They didn’t walk next to each other during the funeral procession, reportedly at William’s request, but they did have a brief conversation after the service. Meghan didn’t attend because doctors didn’t clear her for travel as she’s pregnant.
Philip’s funeral marked the first time Harry’s been with his family since he and Meghan sat down for an interview with Oprah in March 2021. The couple discussed what led them to step down as senior royals.
They also talked about Catherine making Meghan cry, an unnamed person commenting on Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s skin color, and the state of Harry and William’s relationship.
Prince Charles set up meetings with his sons at Windsor Castle
Harry told Oprah his father, Prince Charles, stopped taking his calls and cut him off financially in the wake of Megxit. Now, more than a year later, it’s supposedly Charles who is attempting to get William and Harry on better terms. Royal expert Katie Nicholl told ET in April 2021 that it was Charles who orchestrated some face-to-face time for his sons.
“It is safe to say there were meetings with family members and certainly Prince Harry did have some time with his grandmother, the queen, before he went back to L.A.,” Nicholl said. “It was Prince Charles’ idea to get the boys together after the wake. There really wasn’t any other time as Prince Harry was in self-isolation for the days leading up to the funeral for them to get together.”
Harry stayed at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate ahead of the funeral in line with the UK’s coronavirus travel guidelines.
“I think it was quite an important meeting and, as I said, it was Charles’ suggestion,” Nicholl added. “William was also there, and Harry was also happy to go along with that. And that really was the first time that the three of them, father and sons, were able to come together and have a private, informal meeting.”
Reportedly Charles and William felt uncomfortable meeting with Harry alone. They arranged to have courtiers present for their talks because Harry and Meghan may have leaked information about the royal family to Gayle King following their Oprah interview.
The ‘Fab Four’ has ‘quite a way to go’ in reuniting
“I think the idea of seeing this reprisal of the Fab Four — Harry and Meghan, William and Kate — is really so far down the future,” Nicholl said. “It’s almost quite hard to even envision it at the moment. So much has happened. There is so much hurt on either side.”
While the meetings at Windsor Castle were a start, things are “not going to be resolved in one or two family meetings.”
“I think there’s still quite a way to go,” she added. “The idea that Harry’s suddenly going to come around to William’s way of thinking, and vice versa, I think is a way off. I think there do need to be more conversations, there’s clearly still a lot of hurt, a lot of resentment, and a degree of mistrust on both parts.”
Nicholl said the “hope” is that the brothers will be on better terms by July 2021, for the unveiling of a Princess Diana statue. In the meantime, Harry is back in California with Meghan and Archie while William remains in the UK.
