HARRY and Meghan should not take “sole responsibility” for fixing the royal rift despite their history of taking swipes at the family, an insider says.
As Prince William celebrated his 42nd birthday today, a message from his estranged brother was again notably absent.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams suggested a public message of support might be the perfect way for Harry to offer an olive branch following explosive claims levelled by the Sussexes against The Firm.
But an insider dismissed the claim, telling The Sun: “I must express that this perspective appears somewhat one-sided.
“For the sake of balanced reporting, it is important to acknowledge that relationships are reciprocal.
“It would not be entirely fair to place the sole responsibility of mending the relationship on The Duke and Duchess.”
The comments come despite a number of incendiary allegations made by the couple about the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan’s interview with TV host Oprah Winfrey in 2021 was seen by 12.4million people when it first aired in the UK.
During the chat, the Duchess of Sussex told Oprah of conversations with Prince Harry and a “family” member about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be – and “what that would mean or look like”.
And Prince Harry’s explosive memoir Spare hit the shelves in January 2023, also featuring a number of incendiary claims – including that William “attacked” him in a row over Meghan Markle.
This morning William’s wife, The Princess of Wales, posted a touching personal message to her husband on social media.
Kate said “Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx”, accompanied by a photo of William and their three children jumping in the air on a beach and holding hands.
The image was taken by Kate last month in Norfolk.
William‘s 42nd birthday comes a day after he watched England’s disappointing Euro 2024 draw against Denmark, accompanied by the country’s King Frederick.
Kate, also 42, has been receiving chemo for an undisclosed form of cancer since February. She made her own return to public life during Trooping the Colour on June 15.
Buckingham Palace also revealed the King had cancer on February 6 after a prostate operation.
Royal rift: Megxit, Oprah and Spare
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced on January 8, 2020, that they would be stepping down as “senior” members of the Royal Family.
On January 18, it was then announced that Harry and Meghan would “no longer be working members of Britain’s Royal Family”, and would not use their “Royal Highness” titles.
The pair moved to California in June 2020, saying they wanted space to raise their son Archie.
In March 2021, the Sussexes’ interview with TV host Oprah Winfrey was broadcast.
The tell-all chat, which was watched by 12.4million viewers when it first aired in the UK, made a series of fierce revelations about the Royal Family.
The Duchess of Sussex told Oprah of conversations with Prince Harry and a “family” member about their unborn son and what colour his skin would be – and “what that would mean or look like”.
And in January 2023, Prince Harry’s explosive memoir Spare was released, also featuring a number of explosive claims – including that William “attacked” him in a row over Meghan Markle.
The Sussexes have also spoken out in a Netflix documentary, titled simply Harry & Meghan.
Speaking about the possibility of reconciliation between the Sussexes and the Royal Family, royal expert Fitzwilliams said: “You never know what may happen.
“I think it’s abundantly clear that any rift is undesirable, and when individuals are ill who are involved in it, it makes it even more undesirable.”
The rift dates back a number of years, culminating in ‘Megxit’ – a term coined by The Sun – when she and Harry abandoned the UK for first Canada and then a new home in the US.
Harry believed they were due an apology for the way Meghan in particular was treated
Richard Fitzwilliams
When asked about the perspective that it might be constructive for the Prince of Wales to reach out, Mr Fitzwilliams said: “The problem with any rift is that it leads to deep mutual mistrust.
“Harry and Meghan were deeply unhappy as senior working members of the royal family. He believed they were due an apology for the way Meghan in particular was treated.”
He added: “Given that they are not currently attacking the Royal Family and the idea of bridging the rift is in the air, of course this is welcome.
“However, give a thought to the damage caused by what happened from the interviews they gave in South Africa, on Oprah, on the Netflix documentary and in Spare and the interviews publicising it.
“Of course William was enraged. They made the Queen’s last years very difficult. The King evicted them from Frogmore.”
But he later added: “Time can heal things. Serious illness can certainly change things.”
Mr Fitzwilliams also questioned what the future held for Harry and Meghan – and their relationship with the Royal Family.
He said: “So far as King Charles is concerned, I think he and William are absolutely one at the moment on how to deal with these Sussexes.
“The point is how the Sussexes want to deal with the Royal Family.
“In the weeks and months to come we will see, and we will monitor, because what future have they got?
“What do they want to do? Is it just Netflix? Does she want to go into politics? All these these questions.”
The Sun today reported how Prince William received a birthday present worth £8 million from his grandmother, The Queen, 10 years ago.
To help William, Kate and their son George get around at their leisure, The Queen gifted William helicopter.
At the time, the royal family regularly travelled between engagements by helicopter.
And it comes after a royal expert said that William and Kate know about the speculation over her health and people need to have a look at themselves.
Hello Magazine royal editor Emily Nash said William and Kate know about the vile abuse – and people need to be “very careful”.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Emily said: “They do read quite a lot, however much you might try to ignore things.
Prince William celebrates 42nd birthday
THE Prince of Wales is celebrating his 42nd birthday – the day after watching England’s disappointing Euro 2024 draw against Denmark.
William, president of the FA, was pictured alongside Denmark’s King Frederick as the two teams went head to head in Frankfurt, Germany, with the Three Lions drawing 1-1 in their second match of the tournament yesterday.
Today, the Princess of Wales said “we all love you so much” in a personal message to him on his 42nd birthday.
Kate said “Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx” in a post on social media on Friday morning.
A photo of William and their three children jumping in the air and holding hands, taken by Kate last month in Norfolk, was posted alongside the message.
William has faced a challenging 12 months with both his wife the Princess of Wales and father the King diagnosed with cancer.
Kate returned briefly to the public limelight at Trooping the Colour last weekend with William and their three children.
But in a personal message to the nation, the princess revealed although she is making good progress, she is “not out of the woods yet”.
Kate told how she has good days and bad days and is facing a few more months of chemotherapy treatment.
William was seen with his mother-in-law Carole Middleton this week on a day out at Royal Ascot, where he took to a carriage with his stepmother the Queen for the traditional procession along the course.
“Earlier this year the Princess of Wales’s whereabouts was the top discussion on every WhatsApp conversation in the UK and overseas.
“Interestingly, it was driven in particular by a few social media accounts in America.”
Royal expert Emily added: “It’s a really tricky one for the palace to manage, isn’t it?
“If they issue regular denials about these things or engage with them, it’s just giving the rumours more oxygen.
“On the one hand, it’s good for them to be able to say once in a while ‘These are the boundaries – that’s enough please’.
” You and I hear things all the time that we have to be very careful about.
“A lot of these things can be traced to someone making a TikTok in their bedroom.
“You need to be very careful about where you’re getting your information from.
“I think it’s also really important to stress that in this country there’s very strong regulation around people’s medical privacy.
“People watching overseas might perhaps not be aware of that – there certainly seems to be an appetite for more health updates.
“That’s just not something we’re going to be told or get into really.”
Prince William Arthur Philip Louis of Wales was born second in line to the throne at St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, at 9.03pm on June 21 1982.
He weighed 7lb 1 1/2oz and was the first-born son of the then-Prince and the Princess of Wales.
At just nine months old, he accompanied his parents on a six-week official visit to Australia and New Zealand, which was a break from tradition with royal babies usually left at home in the care of nannies.
His mother Diana, who separated from the then-Prince of Wales in 1992, died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.
William was just 15 and his brother Prince Harry 12, and the boys walked behind the princess’s coffin during a funeral procession through London.
The prince met Kate Middleton at St Andrews University in Fife, and the pair married at Westminster Abbey in 2011 after dating for more than eight years.
They welcomed their first child George in 2013, followed by Charlotte in 2015, and then Louis in 2018.
After the death of the late Queen in 2022, the King announced in his first historic address that he had made William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales.
William has a long-running rift with his brother the Duke of Sussex, with no sign yet of a reconciliation.
The fallout originated ahead of Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, now the Duchess of Sussex, and worsened after the accusations Harry publicly levelled at his brother in his double tell-alls: his Netflix documentary and his memoir Spare.
When their joint friend the Duke of Westminster married in Chester Cathedral earlier this month, William acted as an usher, but Harry mutually agreed with the groom that he would not attend.
Since his last birthday, William has launched Homewards, his five-year drive to eradicate homelessness in six locations around the UK.
His other key focuses include raising mental health awareness, and the Earthshot Prize, his £50 million environmental competition to find solutions to help the planet.
