A move to reconcile the rift between Prince Harry and his father and brother has been proposed to unite the royal family before the coronation of King Charles III, it has been reported.
Royal courtiers have indicated that with both the king and the Prince of Wales remaining silent despite many difficult allegations in Prince Harry’s book Spare, there remains an opportunity for some form of reconciliation.
It is understood that a proposal has been considered to invite the prince from his home in the US to Britain for a meeting with his father and brother to seek a way forward before the king’s coronation on May 6, but this is dependent on Harry making no further damaging comments.
“It’s going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done, it’s fixable,” a friend of both the king and Prince Harry told The Sunday Times. “It needs Harry over here, in the room with the king and the Prince of Wales. The king needs a clear run for the coronation.”
The source added that the royal family had to get a move on “and get it done by April”, and an amicable resolution between Harry’s wife Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, would also be required.
Other sources have confirmed the move, with a resolution considered “the only way forward” for the royal family, but that Prince Harry would need to have people in the room who he could trust, such as Edward Lane Fox, his former private secretary, and Lord Christopher Geidt, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s former private secretary.
“Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit we didn’t get everything right, and we got a lot wrong, and we have to say to him ‘we understand the pain you’ve been through’,” a source said.
“They have to invite them in before the coronation, or it will become such a circus and distraction.”
However, Prince William, who was the subject of some bitter sibling attacks in the book, is understood to be “burning inside” over the allegations and wants his younger brother to concede that he too did not behave well.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, a trusted confidant of all sides in the royal family, has been suggested as the person who could arbitrate at a reconciliation summit.
“There is always a way forward,” Archbishop Justin Welby said last month. “But it has to be at the right time.”
But Prince Harry has admitted his family may find it hard to forgive his harsh comments in the book.
“Some of the stuff I’ve put in there, well, they will never forgive me anyway,” he told The Daily Telegraph last week. “But the way I see it is, I’m willing to forgive you for everything you’ve done.”
An important issue that remains unresolved for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is the question over royal titles for their children Archie, three, and Lilibet, one.
As children of the king’s son, they are entitled to be called a prince and princess, as well as His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness.
Meghan has previously alleged that Archie would not receive the title as he was of mixed race. On the royal family’s website they are still referred to as “Master” and “Miss Mountbatten-Windsor” despite the queen’s death four months ago.
It is thought that King Charles will decide on their titles before his coronation.
