Charles has effectively handed the Harry dilemma over to William.
And the carefully crafted royal narrative was already in motion before the Duke and Duchess of Sussex even touched down in the UK on Wednesday.
“Change of Plans!” declared the bright, upbeat headline splashed across People magazine’s newest cover story.
It was certainly a polished way of describing a striking reversal.
After all, it was only in May 2025 that Prince Harry told the BBC, “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point.”
Yet with the Sussexes’ once-glittering Hollywood chapter appearing far less certain, and high-profile supporters from Oprah Winfrey to Ted Sarandos seemingly less publicly aligned than before, Harry now appears able to imagine exactly that world — one in which Meghan and their children might not merely endure life in Britain, to borrow Meghan’s memorable phrasing, but perhaps even flourish.
Convenient timing, some might say.
Charles has effectively turned the Harry question into William’s problem — and the public messaging started well before the Sussexes arrived in Britain on Wednesday.
It is also not enough — is it ever with the Sussexes? — that King Charles is welcoming his wayward son and his insufferable wife.
No: It seems Harry and Meghan want William to welcome them back too.
Has an apology been offered to William? Not as far as we know.
Nor has an apology been offered, or issued publicly, to King Charles: Not for bashing Queen Camilla, as Harry did in telling Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes that Camilla was ‘dangerous’ and ‘left bodies in the street’.
Or for heavily implying, in that infamous Oprah interview, that certain royals had made racist comments — an accusation Harry later walked back.
Or for airing all manner of private conversations and information in his memoir Spare — calling the future King ‘Willy’, reprinting private text messages sent by Kate and revealing that Charles still travelled with his childhood teddy bear.
Diana, I believe, had it right in that Panorama interview: Charles was never up to the ‘top job’.
Why else would he allow William — always the dutiful son, the future King — to be put in such a position?
Especially as the 30th anniversary of Diana’s death approaches.
You can see it now: Harry banging on that his brother is too cold-hearted to forgive, too stubborn to reunite for this momentous anniversary, too cruel.
If anything, it’s quite the opposite. William seems to understand what few do or are willing to admit: Some people aren’t worthy of forgiveness — especially those who have never asked for it.
Perhaps William realizes there are some things you can’t come back from, that some betrayals are too deep, too profound, to ever recover trust — let alone a modicum of politesse.
And because it clearly bears repeating: William is no ordinary brother or son. The fate of the monarchy — made shaky by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — rests on his shoulders alone.
Why would Charles abide this?
Could it be, as I and others theorize, that Charles is a little jealous of William? His eldest son, after all, possesses all of Diana’s gifts: Her magnetism, her charm, her looks, her popularity with the British public.
Just days ago, it was said that one of the King’s most trusted advisors, former diplomat Theo Rycroft, has made it his ‘number one task’ to reconcile the brothers, Our News Outlet reported.
‘A rapprochement between William and Harry remains a work in progress, and Theo is taking the lead’, one source said.
‘Under Theo’s watch, William could publicly acknowledge his brother somehow. No one is expecting them to be friends, but the drama has to end,’ said another insider (though Charles and William sources have denied the claims).
Why? Truly: Why and how should William be expected to do anything here? Harry and Meghan remain at the bottom of UK royal popularity polls, while William and Kate are firmly at the top.
Almost everyone approves of the Prince and Princess of Wales moving on.
But Harry and Meghan’s return will doubtless cause William and Kate — herself in remission from cancer — no end of stress.
Picture it: Harry makes a public appearance at a hospital, a charity gala, an awards ceremony. How will he not be covered as a working royal, even though the late Queen forbade the Sussexes’ proposed ‘half-in, half-out’ approach pre-Megxit?
One royal source has already signaled to the London Times that Harry and Meghan plan to re-enter the UK as ‘private royals-plus’ — which sounds like another way of saying they are going to do whatever they damn well please.
The messaging out of Charles’s camp is, in my view, only helping fuel this strategy.
‘The King would love to have Harry around,’ a source close to the royals told People magazine. ‘He will want to see his sons together over time. This is the best opportunity we have seen in recent years.’
The best opportunity for who, exactly? Because we know William doesn’t want it.
Harry and Meghan’s return will doubtless cause William and Kate no end of stress.
The messaging out of Charles’s camp is, in my view, only helping fuel this strategy.
Could it be, as I and others theorize, that Charles is a little jealous of William? His eldest son, after all, possesses all of Diana’s gifts.
But the drumbeat begins, the chess moves quite obvious: Who would be so insensitive as to deny the cancer-stricken King, now 77, the chance to reunite with his younger son?
Who would deny the King the opportunity to have peace between his sons?
Who would be so callous as to refuse to come together on holidays such as Christmas, or Easter, and display the love, forgiveness and renewal at the heart of those holidays?
Who would be so bitter as to refuse to stand beside his only brother on the 30th anniversary of their mother’s tragic death?
William. That’s the framing that could be pushed in the hopes of getting him to crack.
The Prince of Wales should not. He is absolutely in the right here. Harry and Meghan haven’t so much as hinted they will ask William and Kate for forgiveness — let alone that they’ll do whatever it takes to rebuild trust.
William isn’t just protecting his family and himself. He is protecting the future of the monarchy from two spoiled, entitled, resentful brats who have already tried to destroy the kingdom from outside palace walls.
And since that hasn’t worked, there’s every reason to believe they’ll try to destroy it from within.
Only William, the resolute, can save it.
