He’s made no bones about his dissatisfaction with the palace. In fact, in the past, Prince Harry has broken all royal convention in his critique of his family and their treatment towards him and wife, Meghan Markle, continually lashing out against them in interviews, documentaries and his 2023 memoir, Spare.
But there’s no denying that – in recent times – there’s been a sea change in the way Harry and Meghan approach the topic. Indeed, it hasn’t gone unnoticed that they have considerably pared down their critique, and Prince Harry, in particular, has expressed his enduring love and hope that they can one day make amends.
On the face of it, it’s been assumed that the change in tack comes amid King Charles and Kate Middleton’s respective cancer battles. With both still receiving treatment, it would be below the belt (even for Harry and Meghan, who have often been accused of tone-deaf navel-gazing) to lash out against their estranged brood. But according to insiders, Harry has a much more pressing reason for making nice with his family, and it all comes down to his insecurity on US soil. Over the past year, the former senior royal has had his visa status questioned and scrutinised, after he admitted to historical drug use in his autobiography – something which would massively impact his right to claim residency in the US.
Harry himself has never confirmed what kind of visa he has, but every option begs further questions; while a regular working visa would mean he either lied on his form about drug use, or else was granted a waiver, while a diplomatic visa would land him in hot water over his commercial dealings in the US. In any case, all the scrutiny has been intensified by the fact that he has a very famous, and very pugnacious, critic demanding to know the truth. Step forward Donald Trump, who has openly poured scorn on both Harry and Meghan in the past, and threatened to hold Harry to account if he wins the keys back to the White House. The former president last spoke about the Sussexes earlier this year – but last week, the Trump faction raised complaints again, after Donald’s son, Eric Trump, weighed in with his own thoughts on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Needless to say, they weren’t flattering.
Appearing on GB News, the businessman paid tribute to the monarchy, calling it “beautiful” and a “sacred institute” before taking aim at Harry and Meghan. “You can happily have those two,” he said.
“We’ll happily send them back from America.” He added that, while he admired the royals, “You can always have bad actors in everything. You can have spoiled apples in every orchard”- which seemed to be a not-so-subtle nod again at the pair’s estrangement from the palace.