It looks like it’s going to be a summer to remember for Prince Harry. In July, the former working royal will travel across the pond to mark the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, in tow. Harry has returned to England a number of times since he moved to the U.S. in 2020, but it will be the first time back for Meghan and the kids since 2022.
Despite their estrangement, King Charles III has invited the family of four to stay at a royal residence during their visit. “He’s made it clear their comfort and security is a priority,” says a source. “Everyone’s buzzing with excitement, saying this might be the first step in mending the relationship at large.”
The olive branch certainly seems like a good sign, but there’s no question the royal family at large remains fractured. And the widest rifts are between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, and Charles and his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew). William, 44, is angry at Harry, 41, for airing the royal family’s dirty laundry in his 2023 memoir, Spare, and in TV interviews, while Charles, 77, stripped Andrew, 66, of his titles and royal status last fall over his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
For Charles and William — who’s set to succeed his father to the throne — their loyalty to the crown only complicates matters. “This is a family for whom, for many years, duties come first, and I think that it’s a very difficult balance, because there are human beings involved and at the end of the day, siblings involved,” says royal expert Emily Nash. “You don’t want to turn your back on them completely, but at the same time, you have to protect the institution.”
The once-close brothers are currently not in contact. “There’s no direct communication, no texts, no calls, no emails, nothing,” says the source. While they share a history (“there are only two people alive who know what their childhood was like,” the source explains) and grief over their late mom, Princess Diana, as well as concerns over their father’s health (Charles revealed his cancer diagnosis in 2024), there’s “no movement” toward a reconciliation. “Harry is not Andrew, and he never will be, but William isn’t ready [to make up].”
William hasn’t forgiven Harry for speaking out against The Firm in Spare, the 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, and in his bombshell 2021 TV interview with Meghan. “[That] created a public, permanent record,” explains the source. “The fly in the ointment has always been William’s ongoing beef with his brother over the Sussexes’ notorious [TV] interview, and the broadsides Harry delivered to the royal family in his memoir,” notes Christopher Andersen, author of Kate!: The Courage, Grace, and Power of the Woman Who Will Be Queen.
Harry, meanwhile, has his own trust issues. A second source tells Us Weekly he worries about “stories being planted in the UK press that are anti-Meghan and Harry and pro-Charles and William.” The father of two previously accused Princess Kate and William’s press office of leaking negative stories about him and Meghan to British news outlets to sway public opinion. “That concern is not something that will go away,” the second source says.
The first source believes the brothers still carry sadness over their falling out. “Harry misses William more than he misses ‘the institution.’ He misses having someone who doesn’t need anything explained,” shares the source, adding they believe William feels the same way, even if he doesn’t say it directly. “William’s desire [to see Harry] exists at a level he hasn’t given himself permission to act on yet.” Adds Nash: “I think there’s almost certainly sadness on both sides, but this is the situation they’re in, and they have to make the best of it.”
According to Andersen, the siblings are unlikely to meet up when Harry’s in town. “Is there a sliver of hope? Yes,” Andersen says, adding that it’s more probable that “the Waleses and the Sussexes will assiduously avoid each other.” Nash echoes that there are “no plans” for Harry and William to cross paths. “There’s no communication there at present. It’s very sad for all involved, but they’re both very busy getting on with their lives, and I think Harry does have a bit more of a relationship with his father, so perhaps he will focus his efforts there for now.”
Kate and Meghan are following their husbands’ leads. “They are waiting for William and Harry to decide what’s going to happen,” says the first source, adding, “Kate would love her children to have a relationship with their cousins, and she is interested in seeing the kids as well. But she will respect William’s decision.”
There’s talk that William and Harry will mend fences — eventually. “They will patch things up in the future,” the first source says. (As for connecting over the 29th anniversary of their mom’s tragic death in August, the source says they grieve “separately.”) In a June 22 interview with The Times, William and Harry’s former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton weighed in on a possible thaw between the future king and his younger brother, saying, “I was and am very fond of [Harry]. He has huge redeeming features, and I’m a perennial optimist.”
Charles is stuck in the middle of his sons. “He’s felt as if he were caught in the crossfire,” says Andersen. “But if he had to pick a side, he sympathizes [more] with William.” Nash says Charles and Kate’s cancer battles have bonded them. (Kate revealed she was in remission in early 2025.) “That’s brought Charles and William together,” she says.
Harry hopes to see his dad during his trip. The father and son last met in September 2025, spending roughly an hour together at Charles’ Clarence House residence. While the first source tells Us Charles is handling security matters for the visit, Andersen insists the subject remains a touchy one. Harry lost his initial court case to have taxpayer-funded security while he’s in the UK with Meghan and his children in May 2025; at the time, he said he couldn’t “see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK” without protection. However, in January 2026, the Mail on Sunday reported that Harry and his family would be allowed government-funded security during trips to his home country after a new risk assessment from the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC).
“Even if they iron out all the details, there’s no guarantee the king will set aside more than a few minutes to meet Harry and his family,” Andersen says. They are “trying to align everyone’s schedules,” says the first source, adding, “the king wants to spend time with Archie and Lilibet. They are seeing if they can have a couple of shared meals together and some casual family time.”
William understands his father’s desire to maintain a relationship with Harry and his grandchildren. “He would not stand in the way of that,” notes the source. “There are mixed emotions about him seeing Harry given their history, but William’s feelings about Harry and his father’s happiness are two separate matters, so he won’t get involved.” However, Andersen believes that without William “signing off on a full-blown reconciliation, Charles will probably just be going through the motions — if he sees Harry at all.”
Charles and his younger brother — who was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct while in public office — haven’t been in contact in months. (Andrew was released from jail hours after being questioned.) “Charles called Andrew [when he stripped him of his titles] and [let him know he] had no choice. They haven’t spoken since,” says the first source, adding, “they have no relationship.” Nash agrees, telling Us the brothers’ relationship is likely “incredibly strained.”
Like William and Harry, the siblings were also once tight. “Andrew could make Charles laugh,” the first source says. “Andrew was the loud, crazy one, where Charles was measured and refined.” Charles found Andrew’s scandalous behavior increasingly exhausting. (Andrew was previously accused of sexually assaulting a then-17-year-old woman named Virginia Giuffre; they settled for an undisclosed amount of money in 2022. She died by suicide in 2025.) “Charles doesn’t agree with Andrew’s choices and is devastated by the scandal,” says the source. “It felt like a death.”
Charles feels Andrew posed a serious threat to the monarchy. “I don’t think anyone believed the king would act so decisively, but it’s to his credit that he did,” says Andersen, adding, “Andrew’s downfall was inevitable. To say he felt entitled to do whatever he pleased would be a gross understatement.” Adds Nash: “Charles has come out in support of victims, and that sends a powerful message. He would like for Andrew’s scandal to not be a stain on his reign.”
Nash tells Us that Charles and William are “in lockstep” about the decisions regarding Andrew’s removal from royal life. “They are in full agreement about this,” she says. “I think there have been times in the past where perhaps one or the other didn’t quite see the same things, but they’re both resolute about this. They’ve taken the steps they needed to take.”
Andrew — who was booted by Charles from his longtime home at Royal Lodge and is now living at Marsh Farm on Charles’ Sandringham Estate — is keeping his distance. “He stopped answering most calls,” says the first source. “He takes a lot of walks and asked someone to send him his model soldiers from storage, so he’s been [keeping busy with] hobbies.”
The royals are clearly far from exempt from family drama. “They may be royals, but they’re still a family, and the dynamics are the same whether you’re a king or a coal miner,” says Andersen, pointing out that even Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, famously had their differences. The author also notes that The Firm is made up of several camps that have long competed for attention and money to fund their various causes. “Inevitably, their egos get tied up in all of this,” he explains. “Charles used to hate being overshadowed by Diana, and Harry and Meghan decided they couldn’t live out their days playing second fiddle to William and Kate.”
Now, Charles has the most at stake. He’s caught between his fractured relationship with Andrew, his strained bond with Harry and the ongoing feud between his two sons. “He wants to be seen as a strong monarch,” says Andersen. “He really has to be the glue that holds everything together.”
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