Ever since Meghan accused unnamed senior members of the Royal Family of racism in her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021 and Prince Harry traduced his brother and sister-in-law two years later in his tawdry memoir Spare, the Prince and Princess of Wales have bitten their tongues.
The only hint of a public reaction was when a reporter shouted a question to Prince William a few days later, referring to that Oprah sofa chat. ‘We’re very much not a racist family,’ the future king responded with clear anger in his voice.
William and Catherine have kept their counsel since then, while also having to cope with the trauma of the princess’s major abdominal surgery followed by her cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Over recent months, they have also faced a relentless public relations campaign waged by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex aimed at restoring the California-based couple to the affections of the British public. Worryingly, King Charles has been drawn into this, aided by some key figures of the Establishment behind the scenes.
The Mail on Sunday exposed this plot when it published photographs in July of a secret ‘peace summit’ between aides of the King and the Sussexes, marking the first significant move towards resolving their rancorous family feud.
Charles and Harry’s senior aides held a secret peace summit in London in July. Present were Tobyn Andreae, the King’s communications secretary (left); Meredith Maines, head of communications for the Sussexes (right); and Liam Maguire, who runs the Sussexes’ PR team in the UK (centre)
Harry and Meghan were represented at the meeting, held at a London private members’ club that champions international friendship, by Meredith Maines, their newly appointed chief communications officer and head of their household in Montecito, California, who flew in from Los Angeles. She met Tobyn Andreae, the King’s communications secretary. Also present was Liam Maguire, who runs the Sussexes’ PR team in the UK.
Ms Maines had organised Harry’s BBC interview in May in which he said he ‘would love a reconciliation’ with the Royal Family, but that the King ‘won’t speak to me because of this security stuff’.
He was referring to the removal of his automatic police security detail in Britain, which he called an ‘old-fashioned Establishment stitch-up’ and suggested that his father could have resolved the situation.
Since the July meeting, there has been a seemingly endless stream of stories about how the Sussexes want to mend fences with the Royal Family that they have done so much to hurt and damage.
The couple achieved their aim earlier this month when the King agreed to meet Harry during his visit to Britain, their first get-together in 19 months. After taking tea with his father at Clarence House, the duke could barely contain his glee as he was pictured smiling broadly. In an interview with anti-monarchist newspaper The Guardian two days later, Harry made clear that he hoped to return to Britain with Meghan, and their children, Prince Archie, aged six, and Princess Lilibet, four. ‘This week has definitely brought that closer,’ Harry declared.
William and Catherine, pictured during Donald Trump’s recent state visit, have had to cope with the trauma of the princess’s major abdominal surgery followed by her cancer diagnosis and treatment
Buckingham Palace sources were keen to make clear at the weekend that the King would not allow the Sussexes, pictured at a polo match last year, to combine royal duties with making money
After taking tea with his father at Clarence House, Harry could barely contain his glee as he was pictured smiling broadly at a reception for the Invictus Games
During his visit, he told friends that he wanted his children to be educated in Britain, as I reported last week. Harry hopes that by the time his children are of an age to attend school here, he and Meghan will be spending more time in Britain, possibly living in a royal residence if relations with the King continue to improve.
Buckingham Palace sources were keen to make clear at the weekend that the King would not allow the Sussexes to combine royal duties with making money, something Queen Elizabeth banned them from doing when they quit Britain in 2020.
‘Harry and Meghan know this, but what they want is friendly relations with the King and to be in a position to move between Britain and the States regularly with no fears for their security,’ a source tells me.
The King is, however, in danger of forcing the heir to the throne into a very uncomfortable corner. If he allows this plot to succeed, Harry and Meghan will be back in Britain, undermining Prince William and Catherine without ever having apologised for their appalling behaviour.
In his interview with the Left-wing Guardian, Harry claimed that he had nothing for which to apologise, declaring: ‘My conscience is clear.’
The King needs to put his foot down and make clear to his younger son that there will be no more appeasement unless he apologises to William and Catherine. Only then, could a genuine reconciliation be possible.
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