Prince Harry is said to be convinced the royal family could ultimately find it needs him again, despite a fresh Palace intervention firmly ruling out his return as a working royal, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Harry, 41, and Meghan Markle, 45, have returned to Britain with their two children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, six years after leaving royal duties for North America.
But their homecoming has already triggered tensions after King Charles, 77, reaffirmed the 2020 Sandringham agreement through guidance stating the Sussexes remain non-working royals whose position is “akin to private citizens with commercial and charitable interests.”
But a royal source claimed: “Harry’s attitude is that nothing involving the monarchy should ever be regarded as completely irreversible. He knows perfectly well that he cannot simply arrive back in Britain after six years and expect everything that happened around Megxit to be forgotten, but he also doesn’t accept that there can never be a meaningful place for him again.
“In his mind, the royal family is going to face enormous demands in the years ahead, and there are fewer people available to shoulder that burden. Harry believes he still has an international profile, enormous experience of public engagements and longstanding connections with charities, veterans and organizations around the world.”
The insider noted, “He thinks there may eventually be a realization that those things have value to the monarchy. In short, he thinks the royal family still needs him.
“That doesn’t mean he expects Charles to suddenly tear up the Sandringham agreement and restore him as a full-time working royal. Harry understands that isn’t what is currently on offer. What he does appear to believe is that the situation could become more flexible over time and that there may be occasions when having him involved would make more sense than deliberately excluding him.”
The source claimed, “That is why being described in terms that effectively put him alongside any other private citizen has touched such a nerve. Harry accepts that he gave up his official working role, but in his eyes that is completely different from ceasing to be the King’s son, a prince and a member of the royal family.
“He feels there is a distinction between his constitutional job and his place within the family that the Palace language fails to acknowledge. He also looks at everything he has continued doing with Invictus, veterans and WellChild and believes he has shown that public service didn’t end when he left royal duties.
“Those causes are central to his identity and, from Harry’s perspective, demonstrate that he can still make a serious contribution in Britain and internationally. The enormous obstacle is whether anybody inside the Palace shares that assessment.
“Charles has drawn a very firm line around Harry and Meghan’s status and there is no indication that he intends to reverse it. Harry therefore has to tread extremely carefully. If he turns this disagreement into another public war, he risks convincing the Palace that bringing him closer again would create more problems than it solves.”
Harry is nevertheless preparing for public engagements, including the WellChild Awards and the launch of the Inspire educational initiative. He is also scheduled to attend the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York on September 22.
His Invictus Games project has faced another setback after Ugandan military chief General Muhoozi Kainerugaba announced his country was withdrawing.
Kainerugaba said: “In order not to be construed as being opposed to His Majesty King Charles III of the United Kingdom, whom we deeply revere, Uganda hereby withdraws from the Invictus Games.”
The Birmingham Games have a reported $61million budget, with approximately 400 competitors expected.
Meanwhile, Harry and Markle are beginning their search for a permanent Cotswolds home while Archie and Lilibet settle into school.
The family is expected to return to California during the October half-term break before spending another period in Britain and later traveling back to America for Christmas.