William has all the power now and Harry knows well

Tessa Dunlop, The Independent

Forget politics, a week is a long time in the royal goldfish bowl. It began on Wednesday when Harry proved he was still able to stop the press when he let the world know that reconciliation with his family is ‘the most important thing’ to him. Confronted by the British weather (mixed) and a royal welcome (frosty), Harry’s return to England appears to have alerted him to what he no longer has — a seat at Britain’s top table.

Pictures of the Duke, casual in suede boots and jeans for a puff piece in GQ magazine contrasted starkly with William and Kate’s set piece at a state visit for the King of Oman in Windsor Castle on the same day. Prince Harry the celebrity wannabe, versus King William-in-waiting. Those optics have changed slightly since. Firstly William has proven he doesn’t just have the top table at his fingertips but the most accommodating sofa too — Graham Norton’s, where he joined a line-up of carefully curated guests last night to promote his latest Earthshot awards.

As power plays go, the Prince of Wales’s sanitised appearance on high profile BBC1 platform will underscore Harry’s impotence — his GQ interview being a masterclass in what not to do. (Please note the masterclass that Harry was meant to be promoting was on grief — predictably it wasn’t the one the press picked up on). Instead the Duke’s latest overshare served to remind us of his new found homelessness. A dislocation compounded by the other big royal story of the week — Meghan Markle’s statement about being deeply distressed following the reports of child sex images allegations being made against her father Thomas Markle. While he denies them as ‘sick lies’, it is all a salient reminder that all is not rosy in the Sussex camp.

For a few Sussex fans, the prince’s therapised candour about there being enough drama in the world to justify the end of family feuding will be welcome. To give him his due, over the last 18 months the Duke has stopped throwing truth bombs at royal kith and kin. Harry admits he wants to ‘take control’ of his own story. But wishful thinking in an American magazine will not rebuild detonated relationships. He can’t undo what’s done. Put another way, with one too many public utterances and Harry has gifted all the agency to future-king William who is not up for talking, unless it's on Graham Norton’s sofa. And the more Harry craves attention the more his elder brother will recoil.

There is an irony to this impasse. Six years ago Harry left Britain in a strop, flaunting and monetising his inferior ‘SPARE’ status, only to compound his brother’s power base. These days the Prince of Wales, invested with the hereditary trump card from the get-go, finds himself in an unassailable position. Catherine and William are now all the King has got when it comes to star power within the royal ranks. (Decent and ‘hard working’ they may be, but no, Sophie and Edward are not A-listers.)

Cue a grumpy, stretched Prince of Wales (his erstwhile moniker ‘workshy Wills’ a reminder that the future king doesn’t like a full in-tray). Work, including non-challenging TV appearances, only happen when they suit him, William is in no mood for compromise. Or forgiveness. Harry knows this, which is why he caveated his stated desire for reconciliation with the disclaimer that some ‘scars stick around forever.’ Well quite. As do some documentaries and some interviews. Perhaps he could start with a public book-burning.

Lest you need reminding, prior to his quest for redemption, first mooted by the Duke of Sussex in an interview with the BBC in February 2024, Harry threw all his proverbial toys out of the pram. The collateral was global, and for many all consuming. The late Queen’s subsequent and uncharacteristic “recollections may vary” statement a reminder that Haz (and Megs) rattled the institution. Despite his lifetime's training, William went further, furious, from behind a Covid-19 facemask he insisted the royal family was ‘very much not a racist family.’

Harry, freed from the institution’s manacles, has clearly forgotten just how big a deal this was. The royal family has a history of refusing to let ‘the daylight in’. Amidst yesterday’s breaking news, it is noteworthy how Meghan quickly put distance between her family and her father after being made aware of allegations that she claims had been passed to the Metropolitan Police in 2018. In contrast, for years after rumours first surfaced about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with Epstein in 2009, the then Prince Andrew, was sheltered as a working royal.

Discretion has always been the name of the royal game and in that context Harry’s exposes were unprecedented. He is apparently unaware of just how badly he bruised his big brother.

The old King is doing his best, but due to His Majesty’s massive workload late in life, and poor physical health his dependence on his eldest son has never been greater, both personally and professionally. The two have improved their relationship, but it is not straight forward. As most elderly parents will tell you, depending on a busy adult child is an emasculating experience. Thrown injudiciously into the mix, Harry’s lonely word burps are the last thing His Majesty needs.