Prince Harry has said reconciliation with the royal family is “the most important thing” to him, while suggesting that “some people” do not share his desire to repair the relationship.
The Duke of Sussex made the comments in his first sit-down interview since returning to the UK in late August. He said he wanted his family ties to be restored, but acknowledged that “scars stick around forever”.
“I want it to work out,” Harry told GQ. “With everything else that’s going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile – that’s the key point. Scars stick around forever.”
Asked about his estrangement from the Prince of Wales, Harry said: “Some people don’t want it to work out.” He added that there was “enough drama in the world and enough drama in people’s lives to continue with issues with family”.
The brothers are thought not to have spoken for four years following a series of damaging allegations made by the Sussexes about the royal family, including in the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, their Netflix documentary series and Harry’s memoir, Spare.
Harry has previously called for a reconciliation, telling the BBC last year that he “would love a reconciliation”. He and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, met the King during a visit to the UK in July, and Charles and his younger son are understood to speak regularly by telephone.
Prince Harry says family disagreements are widely relatable
Harry said he no longer wanted sympathy, telling GQ: “We’re way past that.” He explained that he was a prince, had a support network and had undertaken different forms of therapy.
“I wonder where I would be if I didn’t [do therapy] – it could be a very different situation,” he said.
The duke said family disputes were a “massively relatable issue for so many people”, pointing to disagreements between siblings and broken relationships between children and their parents.
He also said he continued to seek advice from his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car accident in Paris when he was 12.
“Sometimes there are questions that I ask her, looking for some kind of response. And sometimes, I do get a response,” he said. “Having done the work that I’ve done, there is a connection still with my mum that I do feel her energy at certain times, in certain parts of my life.”
A spokesman for the Sussexes said Harry’s comments were “absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family”, adding that they had been made in a general context and were not directed at his family.
