Will Prince Harry forgive his family for mistreating him and his wife? Will Charles III welcome his youngest son back to London with open arms? These questions have been endless since the Duke of Sussex decided to leave his royal duties and go into exile in the United States with Meghan Markle and their two children in 2020. And if we could hope for a reunion of the British king with his son in recent months – rumors of Harry’s comeback circulating at the end of the summer – it seems that everything was reduced to nothing by the 76-year-old sovereign this Wednesday, December 25.
In his Christmas speech, Charles III failed to mention Harry, whose 40th birthday he had celebrated on Instagram, in the same way as his brother Andrew, entangled in a new scandal, notes the Mirror . In his pre-recorded message from the Fitzrovia Chapel at the former Middlesex Hospital in London, the monarch recalled meeting with World War II veterans on the 80th anniversary of D-Day, thanked the caregivers who supported him in his fight against cancer, as did those who took care of his beloved daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, and discussed many other subjects. Without addressing a single thought to his son, whom he has not seen since his coronation on May 6, 2023.
PHOTOS – Kate, William, Charles III, Camilla… The royal family reunited and over the moon for Christmas mass
Not a word, not a photo: how Charles III avoided the Harry question in his Christmas speech
According to royal expert and historian Dr Tessa Dunlop, this omission is a sign that the king “clearly made up his mind” regarding Harry and Andrew. His speech was also accompanied by a film, showing various images intended to summarize his year and that of those close to the Crown. “As well as the replay of the King’s famous hug with the New Zealand women’s rugby team, there was footage of Kate at Trooping the Colour, of Camilla in Scotland and Australia, of William serving food to the homeless people and, of course, those royal pillars that are Princess Anne and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh”she listed in her analysis.
The absence of images of Harry or Andrew, who also no longer holds royal functions since 2022, proves Charles III’s choice to put them definitively aside. “The king has clearly decided to act for the good of all, preferring to focus on the strengths of the family, and not on its weaknesses”also deciphers Tessa Dunlop. Remember, however, that since 2019, Harry has not been mentioned in any of the sovereign’s Christmas speeches.
What might suggest that Harry was still part of the clan was his presence in a photo frame on the queen’s or king’s desk. At the end of the year 2024, no image of the Duke was part of the decor, Charles III having chosen to speak standing in front of a Christmas tree and light garlands. A staging, again, far from having been chosen at random. “By avoiding a royal office or drawing room, the king also avoided any microanalysis of the royal photographs and portraits around him, which provides insight into who is (or is not) in royal favor”analyzes the editorialist of Daily Mail Robert Hardman.
