Prince Harry has forged a close bond with family members in the UK despite remaining in a longstanding feud with King Charles and Prince William, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duke of Sussex’s relationship with his older brother and father remains fractured following his step back from working duties nearly five years ago.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who now reside in California, stepped back from working royal duties in January 2020.
In 2023 the relationship was further damaged when Harry released his controversial autobiography Spare, which made several accusations against senior members of the Royal Family and gave unprecedented insights into his relationships and early life.
Prince Harry has forged a close bond with family members in the UK despite remaining in a longstanding feud with the King and Prince William
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The last time Prince William and Prince Harry were in the same room was during their uncle’s funeral in August, but they did not speak to each other, according to eyewitnesses.
Prince Harry has met with King Charles once during a visit to London after the monarch announced he was diagnosed with cancer.
Since then, Harry has not met with his father or any senior members of the Royal Family.
Speaking on the meeting, Richard Fitzwilliams told GB News: “It didn’t make a whole deal of sense when they only met for half an hour the first time when he came over immediately.”
He added: “When the king meets David Beckham and not Harry, it speaks for itself.
“There is a big rift in the Royal Family, and there remains a big rift.”
His mother’s side of the family, which includes his uncle, Earl Charles Spencer, chose to attend a 10-year anniversary event of the Invictus Games at St Paul’s Cathedral in May.
Fitzwilliam suggested that despite Harry’s broken relationship with royals in the UK, he has a “closeness” with his mother’s side of the family.
He said: “Harry is fostering contacts with the Spencers because they supported the Invictus service at St Paul’s, and we know that there’s contact there and closeness that there doesn’t seem to be with the Royal Family except with Eugenie in Portuguese.”
Harry has a close relationship with Princess Eugenie, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently purchasing a holiday home in Portugal, minutes away from the Princess of York’s own property.
Harry is set to return to the UK in January to appear in the witness box in his trial against News Group Newspapers.
He is one of two claimants that are accusing the publisher of The Sun of unlawful information gathering, after 39 others came to a settlement out of court.