Prince Harry’s insinuations that his family have shown no desire to reconcile with him have been brushed aside by royal sources, who say his father invited him to visit over Christmas.
The Duke of Sussex claimed there was no sign of a possible reunion with his family across the pond, saying his father and brother had “absolutely no willingness to reconcile”.
He made the claim in a trailer for an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby, which he did as part of the hype for his new memoir, Spare, which is due out next week.
But insiders at Buckingham Palace have showered cold water on the claims, branding them “nonsense” and saying Harry and his wife Meghan have an open invitation to join the rest of the firm this Christmas.
Royal sources said the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had been invited to join the family for Christmas. Pictured: King Charles and his wife Camilla lead the royal family on a walking tour of Sandringham on Christmas Day
And that’s despite the release of their bombastic Netflix program in the weeks leading up to the holiday season, during which they launched a series of attacks on the monarchy.
Speaking to the Mirror, a source said Harry’s latest claim was “complete and unadulterated nonsense”.
They said: “It takes some boldness to say that when his father invited him to stay at his home while he was in the UK, invited him to spend Christmas with the rest of the family and continued to make public statements of support.”
They also told the publication: “[The King] is sad that he did not have the opportunity to spend time with his grandchildren. He has always left the door open to his son and will continue to do so.”
Prince Harry’s representatives have been contacted for comment.
However, there have been hints from some royal experts that the already strained relationship between Harry and the rest of his family could become even more strained following the release of his memoir.
Insiders fear the Duke of Sussex and his brother William, the Prince of Wales will “never reconcile” after Spare’s release as the book will include scathing attacks on him and his wife Kate.
A source told the Sunday Times: “In general I like the book [will be] worse for them than the royal family expected.
“Everything is exposed. Charles comes out better than expected, but it’s particularly tough on William, and even Kate gets a bit of a broadside.
‘There are these minute details and a description of the quarrel between the brothers. I personally can’t see how Harry and William can reconcile after that.’
The memoir was penned by ghostwriter JR Moehringer, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to charity by the Duke.
It is feared that there will be no chance of a reconciliation after the release of Harry’s memoir. Pictured: Prince William, then Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, then Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a service at Westminster Abbey on November 11, 2018
A promotional poster for Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, which will be released next week
Ahead of it’s release next week, two interviews with Harry by CBS’ Mr. Bradby and Anderson Cooper, conducted at a rented ranch in Montecito, will be released.
In a trailer for Mr Bradby’s interview, the Duke of Sussex said he would “love to have my father and brother back”, adding that his family had “showed absolutely no willingness to reconcile”.
Harry says “it never had to be like this” and refers to “the outflow and the planting” before adding “I want a family, not an institution”.
He also says in an apparent reference to the royals, “They feel like it’s better to keep us kind of villains” — something that probably won’t help the frayed relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the company, eh Sources already say “hanging by a thread”.
But a royal expert said Harry and Meghan need to be taught that “silence is common sense” and that airing dirty laundry in public is unlikely to help bring about the reconciliation the Duke is claiming.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams said the Sussexes’ proclamations in the press were not helping their fractured relationship.
“Harry may want to ‘get his brother back’ and ‘his father back’, but he needs to know for sure that paying more attention to this catalog of ailments isn’t the way to go.
“Further allegations of stories planted against her by the Palace in both interviews show just how bitter he and Meghan still are, but while her fans may support this, there will come a time when even the media of the exposure will respond to this.” level get tired.
“Harry says in the trailer for the CBS interview, referring to the Palace’s inability to protect her from false reports, that ‘there comes a point when silence is treason.’
“There’s also a point where silence is common sense when they want a relationship with the royal family, however distant. When will the Sussexes find out?’
In a trailer for his interview with US TV personality Anderson Cooper, Harry was asked why he hadn’t shared his grievances privately with the family.
In response, he said: “Every time I tried to do it privately there were briefings and leaks and planting stories against me and my wife.
“The family motto is never complain and never explain – it’s just a motto.”
He added: “You [Buckingham Palace] will feed or chat with a correspondent and that correspondent will literally feed information and write the story and at the end he will say that he has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
“But the whole story is commented on by Buckingham Palace.
“So when we’ve been told for the past six years, ‘We can’t make a statement to protect you,’ but you’re doing it for other family members, there comes a point where silence is treason.” ‘
The clips appear to confirm reports that Harry will use his memoir to reveal details about disagreements between himself and his brother, the 40-year-old Prince of Wales.
It comes after the Duke claimed in his Netflix documentary that William broke a promise never to reveal stories or tutor each other after witnessing the aftermath of such actions in her father’s office.