Note: I’m taking a bit of time away from screens. My regular posting schedule restarts in mid-August.
The phrase “back into the royal fold” keeps being raised in the aftermath of the private visit between the Sussex family and King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Highgrove. It sounds like a done deal – that Harry will stay in royal residences, sometimes with his family, as he slowly, inexorably reintegrates himself into his estranged family.
To me, it depends what “royal fold” means. I don’t think that what the King and palace are offering is what Harry and Meghan truly desire.
Harry has spent less than a half day with his father since he was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2024. Before spending a few hours together in July, they’d last seen each other in September 2025. Sure, there’s Facetime and other video options for maintaining ties across eight time zones, though the King isn’t known for his fondness of tech.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have made no secret of their desire to reverse Megxit and finally obtain their “half-in, half-out” strategy, which Elizabeth II, her family, and advisors all firmly rejected in 2020. As Alison Boshoff wrote in the Daily Mail in July:
The couple want to carry on making money in the US and elsewhere, but to be treated as ‘working royals’ when in the UK.
The situation now is that Harry earns money from sustainable travel company Travalyst and business coaching firm BetterUp, and is trying to make money from the Archewell production company, while Meghan has her lifestyle company As Ever and gets commission from plugging outfits she has worn on an e-commerce platform. But Harry is also undertaking charity work with his patronages on UK soil and being welcomed by the King in his home.
It is a short hop from that reality to Harry and his family staying in a royal palace when he is next in the UK.
I can’t see a complete reintroduction to royal life – that King Charles III not only signals that all is forgiven and it is only a matter of time before Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, once again step out on the balcony of Buckingham Palace as full-time working members of the royal family, while still cashing in on their commercial pursuits such as paid speeches and sales of blackberry spread and flower sprinkles.
I think a return to their working roles would be too much for many in the Windsor clan, the palace, and in Britain and other realms. For one, Harry and Meghan have burned too many bridges during the last six years with their claims of racism by members of the royal family (downgraded to “unconscious bias” two years after the white-hot furor of that Oprah interview in 2021), and Harry’s shocking revelations about how he believes he was treated and his vicious allegations against Queen Camilla and other royals in his memoir, Spare.
Still, there’s no doubt that the status quo is changing.
The King wants to reestablish a relationship with his younger son and his family. He’s a devout Anglican and, as such, practising forgiveness is a major tenet of his faith.
Prince Harry misses his father and wants regular contact, not only for him but also for his young children.
Harry and Meghan will continue to support their family and lifestyle through profit-making endeavours.
The King has offered his son accommodation in royal residences for his private visits to the United Kingdom. At some point, Harry will take him up on that offer.
Harry will continue to undertake private charitable efforts in the United Kingdom, which all other private members of the Windsor clan also do.
The King will not permit Harry to undertake official engagements on behalf of the Crown. As private members of the House of Windsor, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will only appear at family events when they are open to non-working royals.
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