A ROYAL expert has claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “peace talks” had a strategic motive – alongside trying to repair their family relationship.
King Charles‘ and Prince Harry’s senior aides reportedly held a secret summit in July aiming to resolve the bitter royal feud.
In July, Prince Harry and King Charles’ aides met in London for a ‘secret summit’[/caption]
A royal expert has claimed that the Sussexes are aiming to boost public opinion[/caption]
The private meeting – held at a London private members’ club – was hailed as the first step towards a “rapprochement process” between Harry, 40, and the rest of the Royal Family, sources claim.
However, Newsweek’s Chief Royal Correspondent, Jack Royston, said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex want more than just reconciliation.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show this week, he claimed: “I think the reason behind it is fundamentally because Harry had a clear-out, and Meghan had a clear-out of their PR team on both sides of the Atlantic.
“They brought new people in who have come with new energy and a real determination to move the dial in terms of public opinion, move the dial in terms of media coverage of the Sussexes, and, that comes with it, move the dial in terms of the relationship with the palace.”
The British monarchy has spent years dealing with the fallout of Prince Harry’s decision to marry former actress Meghan after the two hit out at the family and stepped down as senior royals.
News commentator Samara Gill claims Prince Harry is keen to repair his fractious relationship with King Charles, 76, given his cancer struggle – and alluded to this in May.
She added: “I think he’s trying to get reconciliation before the king goes.
“I mean, he did obviously say in that BBC interview, ‘I don’t know how much longer my father has left’, and obviously dropped a bunch more bombshells in that interview.
“Though it wasn’t that long ago, so it’s kind of crazy now that they’re trying to share diary slots and trying to figure out how he can kind of get back in with the royal fold, because Queen Elizabeth II did say, ‘you can’t have it both ways, you can’t be one foot in, one foot out royals. I don’t want that.’
“And I think that this is really betraying what she wanted for them.”
The royal expert said that the Sussexes need to decide if they want to be in the royal fold, or out.
She continued: “They need to choose. I just don’t agree with this hybrid situation.
“They’re like typical millennial royals who want to do, like, gig economy jobs in the royal family or something.
They brought new people in who have come with new energy and a real determination to move the dial in terms of public opinion, move the dial in terms of media coverage of the Sussexes
Jack Royston
“I don’t exactly know what their whole plan is.
“It’s a very confused strategy. And I do agree that they’ve got a better team who’s clearly trying to fashion something out of this, but I just think it’s a very confused, dilapidated thing and I don’t see it going anywhere.”
BBC BOMBSHELL
Prince Harry recently gave an extraordinary BBC interview after losing his appeal against the decision to remove his taxpayer-funded security.
In a fresh scathing attack, the Duke of Sussex unleashed a host of new claims including how dad Charles is no longer speaking to him and how he’s “uncovered his worst fears”.
Harry gave a bombshell interview with BBC following his security court case[/caption]
Speaking of the revelations, Jack said: “That BBC interview was a huge moment and Harry clearly experienced restraint, basically.
“He’d clearly gone in. I’m sure that they had that interview booked in the diary before they knew the outcome of the case and Harry probably imagined that he was going to go in there and give this plea for reconciliation with his family.
“Then he saw we’d lost the case and just was furious about it and so he started giving these swipes at Charles in the middle of this interview that was supposed to be calling for reconciliation.
“And so I thought that that had a huge potential to blow any chance that he had, but it is promising to see this new… kind of these new meetings taking place.”
Prince Harry is giving his reaction to the court’s decision in an exclusive interview with the BBC’s Nada Tawfik near his home in Santa Barbara, California[/caption]
ROYAL RECONCILIATION
Speaking on whether or not we are likely to see Prince Harry repairing his relationship with King Charles, Jack stated: “I think there’s a chance we will, but I do think Charles is going to need to be slightly dragged into it.
“I think Charles got to a point after his diagnosis where I think he took a decision that he needed to protect his peace and that his younger son was causing him a significant amount of stress and anxiety in his life, and so he took a decision that he needed to focus on his health and getting back to the place that he needed to be, and that meant not exhaustingly spending all of his time running around after Harry.
“And so Harry is going to have to show Charles that having a relationship is not going to be exhausting and draining for him if Harry’s serious about wanting to repair that relationship. “And so it’s going to have to be softly, softly, and Harry’s probably going to have to soak some stuff up along the way.
“Charles has soaked up a huge amount of pain and turned the other cheek, not fought back, except in small ways like taking Frogmore Cottage away.
“And it’s Harry’s turn. Harry’s going to have to soak up a lot as well.”
Royal experts say King Charles is ‘protecting his peace’ and following on his health[/caption]
BROKEN BOND
In his bombshell BBC interview Harry claimed a reconciliation with his family lies in Charles’ hands.
He said: “I would like to get my father and brother back.”
Insiders say the recent talks are the strongest sign in years that both sides are determined to resolve the bitter Windsor feud.
A source said: “There’s a long road ahead, but a channel of communication is now open for the first time in years.
“There was no formal agenda, just casual drinks. There were things both sides wanted to talk about.”
I think Charles got to a point after his diagnosis where I think he took a decision that he needed to protect his peace and that his younger son was causing him a significant amount of stress and anxiety in his life
Jack Royston
Harry was represented by his chief communications officer and head of his household in Montecito, California, Meredith Maines.
She is said to have flown in from Los Angeles specially for the talks.
Liam Maguire, head of the Sussexes’ PR team in the UK, was also present.
The King was represented by his communications secretary Tobyn Andreae.
In his bombshell BBC interview Harry claimed a reconciliation with his family lies in Charles’ hands[/caption]
The details of the conversation have remained private with Ms Maines jetting back to the US as soon as the meeting ended.
Harry opened up a number of wounds when he spoke to US talk show host Oprah Winfrey alongside his new wife about how Meghan was allegedly treated during her time as part of the family.
Meghan claimed she was left suicidal due to how she was treated as Harry said that questions were raised about the colour of their child’s skin colour by other royals.
The British monarchy has spent years dealing with the fallout of Prince Harry’s decision to marry former actress Meghan[/caption]
The Prince would also publish his bombshell book Spare in 2023 after moving to California which stirred up further controversies.
Ever since, Harry has been left out in the cold by his fellow hardworking royals.
He reportedly hasn’t seen Charles in years with his last direct communication with brother William coming in 2022.
The feuding brothers reportedly didn’t even speak to each other despite standing “virtually back to back” among mourners at their uncle’s memorial service last year.
Inside Prince William and Prince Harry’s ‘feud’
TENSIONS have been running high in the royal family since Prince Harry stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California with Meghan Markle.
Their last reported interaction was during the funeral of their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September 2022, but conversations were said to be brief.
The feuding brothers reportedly did not speak to each other despite standing “virtually back to back” among mourners at their uncle’s memorial service last year.
Growing up, Wills and Harry shared many of the same friends who were part of their close, tight-knit circle.
But their relationship took a sour turn after Harry lobbed vile allegations against the Prince of Wales in his memoir Spare – and they are said to have not been in direct contact since the 2023 release.
In the book, he claimed William had physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor in 2019 and made insulting comments about Meghan.
The Sussexes had also targeted Princess Kate, when Meghan claimed the royal made her cry.
The bitter feud was ignited when the Sussexes told Oprah, in their 2021 sit down interview, that certain members of the Royal Family had speculated about Prince Archie’s skin colour.
It was later claimed the royals were Princess Kate and King Charles, after Harry and Meghan’s former pal Omid Scobie published his hatchet-job book Endgame.
During the infamous Oprah interview, the duchess also made stinging comments about the Firm and how they handled her mental health struggles.
Prince William and Harry’s bond then worsened after the Sussexes made a number of accusations against the Royal Family in their 2022 Netflix docuseries.
The duke has given subsequent interviews, such as his most BBC chat in May 2025, that have only propelled bad blood.
