Will Queen's death bring Prince Harry, Meghan back into the royal family fold?
Queen Elizabeth II’s death may be prompting a rapprochement between the two estranged brothers of the British royal family, Prince Harry and Prince William, as they took people completely by surprise by making a public appearance together with their respective wives, outside Windsor Castle on Saturday (September 10).
Clad in mourning black attire, the two couples amicably walked around greeting well-wishers and looking at the public tributes of flowers, balloons, notes and more left for the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022, at Balmoral Castle, aged 96, after reigning for 70 years. The new Prince of Wales, his wife Kate Middleton and Prince Harry along with his wife, Meghan Markle, were photographed waving at the well-wishers on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle.
This joint public appearance, however, has sparked off speculation that Prince Harry and Prince William, who have been estranged since the former’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, may be reconciling after the Queen’s death. That the two brothers, who had grown apart, after Prince Harry split from royal life and moved to North America, may just set aside their differences and get back together again.
Harry and William were last photographed together after the death of Prince Philip in April 2021, and the two couples haven’t been seen together in public for several years.
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The relations between them had soured terribly, especially after Meghan Markle had admitted in an interview that Kate Middleton had made her cry and after Markle accused the royal family of being racist. She had told a scandalised Oprah Winfrey in a highly publicised interview that a person in the royal family had wondered about the colour of Prince Harry and Markle’s baby. This allegation drove a normally unruffled Prince William to hotly deny to the media that the royal family was not racist.
According to reports by the international media, it was Prince William who had offered the olive branch to his younger brother for the walk outside Windsor Castle. The decision to invite the Sussexes was made in the eleventh hour and royal watcher Omid Scobie wrote on Twitter: “It is, without a doubt, a significant moment in the history of the relationship between the two brothers.”
This was not the case earlier, when the family had flocked to Balmoral Castle to see the Queen on her deathbed. A tearful Prince Harry had gone off on his own to see the Queen, while Prince William and other close family members had travelled in a car together.
Deepening rift
Many royal observers felt that the rift between the brothers had deepened since Harry and Markle had reportedly in the past few months done a lot of damage with their digs at the royal family, said media reports. Prince Harry had made it clear that his brother and he were on different paths. The brothers were also not visibly friendly and their relations seemed strained when they met last year to unveil a statue to their mother.
Also, they did not meet during the queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
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Markle had always felt that Buckingham Palace had failed to protect her. Recently, as the spotlight again intensified over the two couples, Meghan has also been the target of abuse on social media. In an interview, Harry had said he considered the term “Megxit” — which was coined after he and his wife stepped back from their roles as senior members of the royal family in January 2020 as “misogynistic.”
A new chapter?
This has all changed with the Queen’s death it seems. Moreover, King Charles too seemed to be in a mood to reconcile with his estranged son, when in his first speech as Britain’s new king, he expressed “love” for his second son, Prince Harry and Meghan “as they continue to build their lives overseas”.
Though the couple are popular among young people they may not take the risk of openly criticising the monarchy, during national mourning and in its aftermath, said reports. What with the British public opinion clearly on the side of the the rest of the family.
News reports suggested that the two couples stepping out together seems to mark a new chapter in their relations. However, Harry is all set to release his memoirs at the end of the year and this may once again create friction in the royal family. It is still not clear whether the situation will take a turn for the better or get worse once again with time.
