Prince Harry has said he wants to repair his strained relationship with his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, insisting that reconciliation is the most important thing.
Speaking to GQ magazine in New York, the Duke of Sussex reflected on the ongoing family tensions and explained why he believes his situation is relatable to so many people.
“There’s sibling disagreements, there’s broken relationships between kids and their parents, kids and one parent,” he said.
On May 19, 2018 Meghan Markle married Prince Harry at Windsor Castle. B. Lenoir Shutterstock
Harry added that people frequently approach him to discuss family difficulties, with some hoping that seeing the royals work through their own issues might help them resolve problems in their lives.
“Some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out. With everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile. That’s the key point,” he said.
Asked whether he believed he could repair the relationship, Harry replied: “Yeah, of course.”
He continued: “Scars stick around forever but … certainly letting go of the past, that’s something that I would encourage everybody to do.”
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The Duke acknowledged that moving on can be difficult when past experiences continue to affect everyday life, but said he did not want family tensions to remain an ongoing source of drama.
“For me, there’s enough drama in the world and enough drama in people’s lives than to continue with issues with family,” he added.
A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan later clarified that his comments were not intended as a criticism of William or directed at any member of the royal family, stressing that he was speaking about family relationships in a general context.
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The interview was conducted last month and published on GQ’s website as the royal family welcomed the Sultan of Oman to Windsor Castle for a state visit.
Harry also discussed his family’s return to the UK, explaining that the opportunity for his children to attend British schools had been particularly important to him.
“I didn’t know how important it was to me,” he said, adding that Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, had been enjoying their first two weeks at school.
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He said he wanted his children to experience two different cultures, while making clear that his comments were not intended as a criticism of American schools.
During the interview, Harry also spoke about dealing with grief and trauma following the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
Diana, Princess of Wales leaves the National Building Museum in Washington DC, 1996. Photo credit: Mark Reinstein, Shutterstock
The Duke said he hoped that sharing his experiences could help other people, rather than attract sympathy for himself.
“I certainly don’t want any sympathy. Why? Because I’m a prince. I’ve got a support network around me, I’ve done different forms of therapy, and I put in the work,” he said.
“I wonder where I would be if I didn’t – it could be a very different situation.”
