King Charles III addressed the United Kingdom on the first full day of his reign in a nearly 9-minute long speech. The 73-year-old British monarch ascended the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. While paying respects to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II, he also made a mention of his son and daughter-in-law, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.
The couple decided to permanently step down as working royals, Buckingham Palace confirmed on February 19 last year. The pair moved to the United States soon after. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed to Her Majesty The Queen that they will not be returning as working members of The Royal Family,” a statement from Buckingham Palace read at that time. “Following conversations with The Duke, The Queen has written confirming that in stepping away from the work of The Royal Family it is not possible to continue with the responsibilities and duties that come with a life of public service. The honorary military appointments and Royal patronages held by The Duke and Duchess will therefore be returned to Her Majesty, before being redistributed among working members of The Royal Family. While all are saddened by their decision, The Duke and Duchess remain much-loved members of the family.”
Many people speculated that there was a rift in the royal family since Harry and Meghan’s departure from the monarchy. But royal experts are now under the impression that by mentioning them in his speech, King Charles III is making peace with the couple. He mentioned his youngest son and wife in his inaugural speech saying that “I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas.” The comment was seen as an “olive branch” from father to son, according to Wendy Naugle, editor-in-chief of People magazine per TODAY. “When King Charles mentioned Harry and Megan, in his speech, it really was monumental. It was a big olive branch,” said Naugle while appearing on TODAY on Sept. 9. “Obviously, there have been tensions between him and the couple. But I think this is a big step forward that we could be seeing in that relationship.” Royal expert Daisy McAndrew believes that the brothers will reunite despite their differences. “We know that there was an open invitation throughout this summer to Harry and Meghan and the children from the children’s grandfather, now King Charles, to come to Balmoral and stay with them,” McAndrew said on Weekend TODAY.
According to PEOPLE, in the couple’s sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry opened up about his relationship with his brother William after he and his wife decided to step back from the royal family. The 37-year-old revealed that he cares about his older sibling no matter what. He said he loves “William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been through hell together. But we are on different paths.” As for his relationship with his father there is “a lot to work through.” “I feel really let down, because he’s been through something similar,” Harry said of his father. “He knows what pain feels like. I will always love him, but there is a lot of hurt that’s happened. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try to heal that relationship. But they only know what they know.” At the time he added, he said, “the relationship is space. Time heals all things, hopefully.” Harry also mentioned that despite following his own path he will still “always be there” for his brother William and his family.
