What Prince Harry Once Said About a Return to Royal Life Never Being ‘Possible’
Amid much talk of a possible return to royal life for Prince Harry, we’re revisiting what the Duke of Sussex has already said on the subject. Back in 2023, around the time his Spare memoir hit shelves, Harry discussed—and dismissed—the possibility. Ahead, the reason he gave for why going back to royal life would never work. Hint: It has nothing to do with where he stands with King Charles III or Prince William amid the ongoing rift.
Harry’s potential return to royal life
On the heels of the king’s cancer diagnosis came speculation about a temporary return to royal duties for Harry. After all, the ranks are particularly low with the 75-year-old monarch undergoing treatment.
Plus, the king’s oldest son, the Prince of Wales, is spending much of his time at home with Kate Middleton, who is recuperating from a January 2024 abdominal surgery.
The rumors really began to swirl following a report from The Times in the U.K., claiming Harry’s ready to “step into [a] royal role while his father is unwell.”
However, since then, many reports have refuted the claim, citing how Harry and Meghan Markle’s preferred “half-in, half-out” approach to royal life didn’t go over well with the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Tom Quinn, a royal author, even told the Mirror that if Harry did indeed extend the offer, he may have done so “safe in the knowledge it would be rejected.”
“Harry knows he will never be allowed to be a permanent part-time working royal staying six months in the States and then six months in the U.K.,” Quinn said. “The family no longer trust[s] him. And, besides, Meghan is absolutely against it. There is far too much bad blood now for it to be even a remote possibility.”
Returning to royal life would be ‘unsurvivable’ because of the British media, according to Harry
“Is there a part of you that can see you and your family going back to the U.K. [and] becoming working royals with the monarchy?” Michael Strahan asked Harry in a 2023 Good Morning America interview about Spare.
Harry shared his skepticism regarding a return to the U.K., noting an unnamed “third party,” presumably the British press, would make it “unsurvivable.”
“No, I don’t think it is ever going to be possible,” Harry began. “Even if there is an agreement or an arrangement between me and my family, there is that third party that is going to do everything they can to make sure that isn’t possible.”
“Not stopping us going back,” he clarified, “but making it unsurvivable.”
In other interviews over the years, as well as Spare, Harry recounted how the often hostile treatment of him, and particularly Meghan, in the media impacted them.
In Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries, Harry shared his belief that a tabloid lawsuit possibly contributed to his wife’s 2021 miscarriage.
Meanwhile, Meghan touched on being the “most trolled person in the entire world” in 2019. “What that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging,” she said on a 2020 podcast.
The king’s contingency plan for royal duties doesn’t include Harry
If and when King Charles needs more working royals making appearances on behalf of the monarchy, it seems Harry won’t be among them. The king’s youngest son isn’t reportedly part of the “contingency plan.”
“The idea of Harry coming back to the U.K. to carry out engagements on behalf of the king is highly, highly unlikely,” Nicholl said in reference to rumors Harry could represent the royal family part-time (via Express).
“There is a carefully mapped out contingency plan in place if the king is unable to carry out public-facing engagements over the coming months,” Nicholl added. “And none of these involve Prince Harry.”
