Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are one step closer to reuniting with the Royal Family, according to an expert. The Sussexes are preparing to set up home in the UK, in a shock development six years after they quit the working monarchy and moved to California, with the children now enrolled in British schools.
Harry and Meghan are planning an "extended stay" in the UK, but it has not been confirmed how long this will last. The dramatic U-turn has led to many unanswered questions following Harry's security concerns. He lost a legal battle against the Home Office over the security arrangements for him and his family while in the UK, after his level of protection changed when he stopped being a working royal in 2020.
Private meeting with King Charles
Harry and Meghan briefly returned to the UK with their children, Archie and Lilibet last month, where the family had a private meeting with King Charles at his Highgrove residence.
According to Olivia Bennett, Senior Digital PR Director at SEO and digital PR agency Go Up, Harry's return could see the Sussexes and the Royal Family reconcile for the first time in six years. The duke has been vocal about wanting to make amends with his father, King Charles. It has been reported Harry is not on speaking terms with his brother Prince William.
Expert's view on reconciliation
She explained, "Living closer together makes reconciliation more possible, but it doesn't make it inevitable. I actually think a very public reconciliation would be the wrong thing to chase from a PR perspective.
"If the relationship is genuinely improving, I'd let people notice it. Harry spending time with his father, the children seeing their grandfather, family occasions becoming more normal. Those things are much more credible than a big statement about healing relationships."
The expert suggested a royal reconciliation could spark sympathy from the public. "There is also an obvious sympathy around a son wanting to be closer to his father while he's dealing with cancer," Olivia explained. "That gives Harry a very different emotional narrative from the one surrounding their original departure. But I'd be very careful about putting commercial activity too close to that story, because sympathy can turn into suspicion very quickly."
