Highlights
- Harry says he wants to repair his relationships with King Charles and Prince William.
- He says his children are enjoying their new experience of British schooling.
- The prince also speaks about his guilt over his final phone call with Princess Diana.
PRINCE HARRY has said that he wants to repair his relationships with his father, King Charles III, and his estranged brother, Prince William, calling reconciliation the most important step after years of family disputes.
In an interview with GQ magazine recorded in New York in September and released on Tuesday (20), the Duke of Sussex said he hoped the family could move beyond past disagreements.
“There is, you know, some battles that have been fought, necessarily so, but hopefully we can all draw a line under that,” he was quoted as saying.
“With everything else that's going on in the world, there's aspects of the past that I'm sure all of us - me, my family, some of the British press - that we'd all like to leave that behind us and work for the greater good.”
Harry, 42, said he wanted to make the relationship work, despite recognising that the effects of past disagreements would remain.
“Some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out. With everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile - that's the key point,” he told the magazine.
He added: “Scars stick around forever.”
Harry said he was hopeful but not naive about the prospect of reconciliation, adding that respect would be important in moving forward.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said the interview had been recorded in late September and that its release date was the publisher’s decision. The spokesman also clarified that Harry’s remark about some people not wanting reconciliation was not directed at William or any other member of the family.
Return to Britain offers new opportunities
Harry and his wife, Meghan, returned to Britain with their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, in August, after six years living abroad.
The family’s move has brought them closer to Harry’s relatives, although his relationship with William remains strained.
Asked about the reasons for returning, Harry said the move offered new opportunities for his family. He said sending his children to a British school had proved more important to him than he had expected.
“Being able to put the kids in a British school has meant a lot to me. I didn't know how important it was to me,” he said.
He added that Archie and Lilibet were enjoying the experience and that it was giving them “a whole different experience”.
Harry also said he had wanted to spend more time in Britain and be closer to his family, rather than returning only for short visits.
The couple made their first joint public appearance since returning during visits to Nottingham last week, where they were greeted by members of the public.
Harry acknowledged that the difficulties within his family were an issue many people could relate to.
“Sibling disagreements, broken relationships between kids and their parents, kids and one parent - that continues to come up with me the whole time with people that I speak to,” he said.
King’s health and memories of Diana
Harry also spoke about his father’s health. Charles, 77, is receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer.
Asked about the King’s condition, Harry said: “He's getting better.”
The prince also reflected on the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when he was 12.
Harry said he had undergone years of therapy to deal with the loss and the effect it had on him.
“One of my biggest regrets is that last phone call I had with her,” he told GQ.
He explained that he had wanted to end the conversation so he could go and play with his cousins.
“If I'd known it was the last call with her, how different that conversation would be,” he said.
Harry added that the guilt had stayed with him for years, describing it as something that felt “heavy”.
He said he had since learnt to carry his mother’s memory through his work rather than allowing grief to hold him back.
“I love the fact that I'm able to now sort of carry the memory of my mother with me, with my work, rather than it hold me down, pull me back, or wallowing in that grief,” he said.
Harry also said he did not want public sympathy, pointing to the support network and therapy that had helped him.
“I've got a support network around me, I've done different forms of therapy, and I put in the work,” he said.
