Prince Harry failed to give a “genuine show of contrition” on his whirlwind UK trip which experts claim stopped him from meeting up with his brother.
The Duke of Sussex spent just 24 hours in Britain after touching down at Heathrow on Tuesday afternoon. He made a quick 30-minute call into Clarence House to see his father King Charles after he revealed to the world that he’d been diagnosed with cancer.
But there was no meet up with his estranged brother Prince William, despite an insider having let it be known that the Duke would have “gladly accepted” an invitation to see him. Now, royal experts have revealed the reason why the brothers didn’t find time to see each other face to face.
An insider, reported to be close to Prince Harry, 39, said: “The Duke’s primary reason to travel to the UK is to visit his father. If the opportunity were to arise to see the Prince of Wales then the Duke would have gladly accepted it.”
However, Matt Wilkinson, The Sun’s royal editor, said that the lack of an apology from Harry was the crucial component that prevented them meeting.
He said: “A meeting with William — who cannot trust his brother, given his repeated public betrayals — cannot take place without a genuine show of contrition from Harry.
“Years of attacks by Harry on Oprah, Netflix and in his autobiography Spare — including branding Wills his “arch-nemesis” — have cut William deep.”
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, agreed that it was a lack of remorse from Harry that stopped the pair reuniting.
She said: “William would be upset that Harry yet again has chosen to make this visit to see his father a PR opportunity.
“As far as William is concerned he has absolutely no interest in speaking to Harry until Harry behaves like a gentleman and apologises for the years of rudeness and slurs he has aimed at William and the Princess of Wales.”
She added that William must be “privately furious” that “all Harry can think about is Harry”.
Prince Harry – who has lived in the US since 2020 – made the journey alone without his wife Meghan Markle, who stayed at home with their children, Prince Archie, four, and two-year-old Princess Lilibet.
Meghan has not visited the UK since September 2022, when she attended the late Queen’s state funeral alongside Harry. Meanwhile Harry has made several trips ever since – including for the King’s Coronation last May.
