Prince Harry and Prince William’s Relationship Will Be Hard to ‘Patch Up’ Despite King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis, Expert Says
The news was heard around the world. On Feb. 5, Buckingham Palace announced that the United Kingdom’s King Charles has cancer. Few details have been provided by the royal family, an institution that has been known to keep every piece of information as far under wraps as possible.
Now, Prince Harry has touched down in the U.K. to visit his father amid the news of his diagnosis. Rumor has it Charles spoke with Harry privately before the announcement went public. And while the diagnosis could bring the family together, it might not be so easy.
Prince Harry and King Charles’ relationship might not mend so quickly, despite diagnosis
Harry and Charles have been slowly getting on better terms. When Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, left the royal family back in 2020, Harry and Charles were hardly on speaking terms. The prince and the king have since worked to improve their relationship, but Harry’s relationship with William apparently still has a number of cracks; the two men don’t speak. Now, as Harry lands in the UK, royal expert Jennie Bond thinks Harry and William could work things out, but that it will be hard to “patch up” everything that has happened between them.
“I think it’s just a son’s reaction to some pretty shocking news,” Bond told GB News (via Express) of Harry’s UK trip. “Could this lead to a reconciliation? Not only with his dad, I think that’s pretty much on the cards, but possibly with William. William does need his brother right now.”
Still, Bond added that things between Harry and William might not improve right away. “That’s going to be a tricker relationship to patch up. We can but hope, it didn’t happen when the queen died; we thought it possibly would.”
Harry and William haven’t made a public appearance together — just the two of them — since 2021 when they unveiled a statue together for their mother, Princess Diana.
What would it take for Prince Harry and Prince William to mend their relationship?
It’s a question that everyone is asking. But when Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, nothing much changed between Harry and William. The reality is that not much is known about Charles’ diagnosis. It is not prostate cancer, but its stage and starting point remain unknown. So right now, it’s unclear how much time Harry will spend in the UK and whether Meghan and the kids will join him at any point.
Harry and William have a lot of tension to work through, and it seems their wives have been brought into it as well. That doesn’t mean a reconciliation isn’t possible, and it’s not uncommon for times of crisis to bring people together. But it’s too early to say what kind of impact this whole situation could have on Harry and William. It’s also unclear if Harry plans to pay a visit to William’s wife, Kate Middleton, who has been recovering from abdominal surgery since mid-January.
