In a roughly 9-minute speech, King Charles III addressed the United Kingdom on the first full day of his reign. The 73-year-old British monarch succeeded to the throne when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, died. While paying tribute to his late mother, he also mentioned his son and daughter-in-law, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
Buckingham Palace revealed on February 19, last year, that the pair had chosen to retire forever as working royals. Soon later, the couple relocated to the United States. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have agreed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family, said Buckingham Palace in a statement at the time.
Following consultations with The Duke, The Queen has written clarifying that it is not feasible to maintain with the obligations and responsibilities that come with a life of public service by stepping away from The Royal Family’s work. The Duke and Duchess’ honorary military postings and Royal patronages will thus be returned to Her Majesty before being dispersed among working members of The Royal Family. While everyone is disappointed by their decision, The Duke and Duchess are still well-liked members of the family.
Many people assumed that there was a schism in the royal family when Harry and Meghan left the monarchy. However, royal analysts believe that by addressing them in his speech, King Charles III is making peace with the couple.
In his inauguration statement, he said, he also wants to convey his admiration for Harry and Meghan as they continue to establish their lives overseas. This was seen as an “olive branch” from father to son by Wendy Naugle, editor-in-chief of People magazine.
Clearly, there have been problems between him and the couple, but she thinks this is a major step forward that one may be witnessing in that relationship, says royal analyst Daisy McAndrew. One understands that there was an open offer to Harry and Meghan and the children from the children’s grandpa, now King Charles, to come to Balmoral and remain with them during the summer, McAndrew said.
Harry revealed his connection with his brother William after he and his wife opted to pull back from the royal family in the couple’s sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey. The 37-year-old confessed that he is always concerned about his older sibling. He said he loves William to bits. He’s his brother. They’ve gone through hell together, but they’re on separate roads, and he has a lot to work through with his father.
He feels extremely let down, since he’s been through something similar, Harry added of his father. He recognizes what pain feels like. He will always love him, but there is a lot of hurt that’s occurred. He will continue to make it one of his priorities to try to mend that relationship. But they only know what they know, Harry said at the time, adding, the relationship is space. Time heals all things, hopefully.
