Prince Harry still holds a grudge despite his attempts to turn over a new leaf.
Following her reporting in The Mail on Sunday, journalist Charlotte Griffiths told The Royalist podcast that Harry’s attitude is preventing him from making the most of the second fresh start he is seemingly pursuing.
“What happened was he went to the States to have a fresh start and start all over again, and then didn’t. He just dwelled in the past,” Griffiths told The Royalist’s Tom Sykes. “And now he’s come back to have another fresh start, and he’s still dwelling in the past. So he’s missed out on two fresh starts.”
Griffiths, the editor-at-large of The Mail on Sunday, had reported that friends of the 41-year-old Duke of Sussex said he “expects an apology” from the royal family amid his return to the U.K., and that he is “just as angry” as he was when he left for the U.S. in 2020.
“Friends who caught up with Harry were expecting to hear noises of contrition and humility. Instead, there will be no imminent mea culpa from Harry by the sounds of things,” a source told Griffiths in the Mail. “Far from it, in fact. He is still in that Oprah mindset.”
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, flew into Birmingham last week with their two children: Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5. Their return, which was unexpectedly revealed last month, allowed them to enroll their children in British schools. The couple moved into a private, non-royal home believed to be in the Cotswolds, outside of London.
A friend of King Charles III told the Daily Beast late last month that Harry’s decision to move his family back to the U.K. was “informally encouraged” by the king himself.
“The king’s faith has played a part, but ultimately this is a strategic decision for the good of the family,” the source said. “The stand-off needed to be resolved.”
The rift between Harry and the crown remains, with the prince reportedly ‘surprised’ by the King’s reiteration that Harry and Meghan are still not considered working royals.
“He’s definitely infuriated with the institution just as he ever was,” Griffiths told The Royalist. “Obviously, he’s a lot warmer towards his father than he used to be. I don’t think there’s any chance he’s made up with William, or is going to. So sadly, the record has not changed. It’s business as usual for a very angry—and sort of slightly miserable—Harry.”
The journalist mentioned that the upcoming anniversary of Princess Diana’s death could also be contributing to Harry’s “grumpy” mental state.
“There’s going to be a series of events, pretty much from now onwards, culminating in next summer, which will mark the anniversary of Diana’s death,” she explained. “I think that sort of whipped him into more anger, more fury.”
A rep for the Sussexes declined to comment.
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