Prince Harry says ‘most important thing is to reconcile’ with royal family
Prince Harry is ready to put the past behind him as he makes a renewed plea for reconciliation with the royal family.
During a video interview with GQ that was conducted by the magazine's host Zach Baron in September and released Tuesday, the 42-year-old Duke of Sussex was asked whether he grieved his complicated relationships with his father King Charles III, 77, and his brother Prince William, 44.
"Yes, of course," Harry said. "I think from a family perspective — again, another massively relatable issue for so many people — 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, so I know how relatable it is."
"Some people maybe look at us and go, ‘How are you gonna work it out? Maybe that will help me work my stuff out,'" he continued.
"Some people don't want it to work out," Harry added. "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."
Baron went on to ask Harry if he believes the family "wound" can be repaired to which Harry replied, "Scars stick around forever."
"But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, letting go of the past," he said. "That's something that I would encourage everybody to do: If there's certain things from the past that are still affecting you every day, that's harder to let go of."
"But, for me, there's enough drama in the world and enough drama in people's lives to continue with issues with family," Harry added.
Following the interview's release, Harry's comment that "some people don't want it to work out" sparked speculation that he was referring to William. A spokesperson later clarified Harry's remark, telling People magazine that his comment "was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family."
"The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way," Harry's representative added.
Harry's relationship with his family has been strained for years. Rumors of a rift between the brothers began to swirl in 2018 after Harry married former "Suits" star Meghan Markle. Harry publicly acknowledged problems in his relationship with William in October 2019, telling ITV that although they would "always be brothers," they were on "different paths" and don't see each other as often as they did in the past.
Tensions escalated further after Harry and Markle stepped back as senior working royals in January 2020 and relocated to Canada before settling in California. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex later aired grievances against the royal family in their bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey. During the television special, Harry and Markle alleged a lack of support from the institution and accused an unnamed royal family member of racism.
Harry also opened up about his strained relationships with Charles and William, though he shared his hopes that those could be repaired. He admitted that he felt "really let down" by Charles and revealed that his father had stopped taking his calls as the Sussexes prepared to step down from their royal roles.
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However, Harry said he would "always love" his father and vowed to "make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship."
Harry addressed his rift with William, saying he loved his brother "to bits" but said again that they were on "different paths." At the time, he described their relationship as "space" while expressing hope that "time heals all things."
A year later, the couple's relationship with the royal family deteriorated further with the release of their Netflix series "Harry & Meghan." In the series, Harry accused the royal institution of leaking and planting stories and further detailed the breakdown in his relationship with his family.
The rift deepened following the January 2023 publication of Harry's memoir, "Spare," in which he detailed private disputes with his father and brother and alleged that William physically attacked him during a 2019 argument over Markle. Buckingham Palace declined to respond publicly to Harry's allegations.
However, Harry has continued to express his desire to reconcile with his family. In a January 2023 interview with ITV while promoting "Spare," Harry said, "Forgiveness is 100% a possibility because I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back."
"At the moment, I don't recognize them, as much as they probably don't recognize me," he added.
At the time, Harry said that reconciliation would only be possible under one condition.
"Though I would like to have reconciliation, I would like accountability," he said. "I've managed to make peace over this time with a lot of things that have happened. But that doesn't mean that I'm just gonna let it go."
Harry's latest remarks echo comments he made last year when he publicly called for an end to his long-running feud with the royal family. During an interview with the BBC in May 2025, Harry's rhetoric shifted noticeably after losing his legal challenge over his security in the United Kingdom.
"I would love reconciliation with my family," he said. "There’s no point in continuing to fight any more. Life is precious."
"I don’t know how much longer my father has," Harry added.
In February 2024, Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer, and he continues receiving ongoing medical treatment.
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At the time, Harry told the outlet that he was not in touch with Charles, claiming, "He won't speak to me because of this security stuff."
The Duke of Sussex also indicated that he had forgiven his family for many of their past disagreements. Harry said there were "things that have happened that I can now forgive" and that he had "moved past that."
Harry specifically said he could forgive the involvement of his father, brother and stepmother, Queen Camilla, though he maintained that he was still struggling to forgive the decision over his security arrangements in the U.K. He also acknowledged that some members of the royal family might "never forgive" him for writing "Spare," or for "lots of things."
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In August, Harry and Markle along with their children, son Prince Archie, 7, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 5, returned to the U.K. for an extended stay. The Sussexes’ desire to reconnect with Charles and other members of the royal family has been reported as one of the reasons behind their move.
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There appears to have been a significant improvement in the relationship between Harry and his father. In September 2025, the two met privately, marking their first face-to-face meeting in more than a year. In July 2026, Harry, Markle, Archie and Lilibet traveled to the U.K where they reunited with Charles and Camilla at Highgrove House. It was the king's first meeting with his daughter-in-law and grandchildren in roughly four years. Harry and Charles have also reportedly remained in communication since the Sussexes' return to the U.K.
However, Harry and William reportedly remain estranged, with no direct contact between the brothers despite the Duke of Sussex's calls for reconciliation. William has largely remained silent about the brothers' estrangement and has not publicly expressed a desire to repair their relationship.