BREAKING NEWS: ‘Adamant’ King Charles ...

BREAKING NEWS: ‘Adamant’ King Charles makes his mind up on Prince Harry’s future as a royal

The King is “adamant” that there is no way back for Prince Harry and he will be resolute in stopping his youngest son from returning to the royal fold, a former Palace press secretary has said. As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their two young children, Archie and Lilibet, settle into their new home in the Cotswolds (the location of which is being kept strictly under wraps), questions remain over what exactly the former working royals will do now they’re back in Britain.

With Meghan expected to seek out acting opportunities while splitting her time between the UK and the US as she continues to grow her lifestyle brand, Harry is set to balance being a stay-at-home dad with his charitable work.

The relocation has led many to fear that, by returning to the UK and actively supporting the handful of British charities he managed to keep hold of, the Duke will seek a more official, public role in direct contradiction of the 2020 Megxit agreement, which prohibits a hybrid role.

However, Dickie Arbiter, former press secretary to the Royal Family from 1988 to 2000, argues this is entirely out of the question. “You can’t just waltz back into a country and expect everything, everybody to roll over,” he says. “It’s never going to be the same as it was; there is always going to be that element of mistrust.”

In his new book, On Duty With the Royals, Dickie analyses Megxit and the catastrophic impact of the couple’s subsequent tell-all TV interviews, Netflix documentary and the Duke’s memoir had on the wider Royal Family. He believes the damage to William and his family is likely irreparable, writing: “In trying to settle old scores, he has inflicted new wounds that may never heal.”

The King has been urged not to attend the Invictus Games in person. (Image: AFP via Getty)

And when unpicking the latest development in the Sussex soap opera, he tells me that there “is no possibility” of Harry taking up an official role. “Harry burnt his bridges,” he says. “Not so much when he left the Royal Family, but what he did in the intervening time, talking to Oprah, rubbishing the Royal Family, rubbishing the British people, rubbishing the country.”

Dickie continued: “That’s [returning as a working royal] not an option. And the King is adamant he’s got to stick to what his mother said. There’s no half in, it’s in or out. You’ve chosen out, out it is going to remain.”

Palace sources echo this sentiment and insist Harry and Meghan will remain private individuals no matter where they live.

And while Harry might have his heart set on joining the thousands of veterans on Remembrance Sunday, the former Palace insider has firmly ruled out his joining the royals for the Cenotaph Service. “That is a national event. It is for working royals to lead the country. He is not a working royal. And therefore, that is not an option, and he can forget about that.”

As the Sussexes carve out their immediate plans, it will be business as usual for the Royal Family, which is focusing on a busy period of both inbound and outbound state visits and its regular schedule of engagements in the UK.

Harry will likely throw himself into planning the 2027 Birmingham Invictus Games, all while slowly repairing his relationship with his father, in the hope that, come July, the King, as head of the Armed Forces, will officially open the event.

But such a public meeting between father and son is not without its risks, with Dickie suggesting that a video message from the King would be more appropriate. “It’s a very difficult one that the King is going to have to confront,” he says. “I would imagine that the Palace are thinking about it very seriously – how they can manage this without giving in to Harry.”

Dickie Arbiter next to the Princess of Wales. (Image: Mirrorpix)

While it’s clear that Charles wants some form of private relationship with his youngest son and his family, forgiveness is still a long way off. “The key to reconciliation is an acknowledgement that he’s not the victim,” Dickie explains, having written in the book that Harry has assigned blame to everyone but himself. “He is the one who has victimised the Royal Family, victimised the British people. And until such time, he acknowledges that. And until such time, he apologises, apologises and means it. It’s going to be very difficult for the great British public to accept him back.”

But when it comes to building bridges with his older brother, the author is not convinced that it will ever happen. With the 30th anniversary of their mother’s death next August, there is a clamour for William and Harry to mark the difficult day together, as they did in 2022.

Dickie thinks a heartfelt reunion is unlikely; however, any event is likely to have “very clear separation” to avoid family drama overshadowing a sombre moment.

The former press secretary worked with the late princess closely over five years and found her fun, warm and engaging – though begrudged her habit of giving people the silent treatment when she didn’t get her way.

He describes her sons as her legacy, carrying on her important work on issues such as homelessness and landmines. But Dickie believes that Harry “is weaponising his mother” and, three decades on, believes he needs to “stop hanging onto her coattails and get on with your life”.

Dickie Arbiter’s new book, On Duty With the Royals, is published September 10. (Image: Mirror Books)

Unlike William, who mourns his mother in private while focusing on his family and public role, the author laments that Harry continues to use her as “a crutch”. “Harry has got to stop hanging onto his mother’s memory. Remember her for life, but don’t remember her in public and don’t use her as a crutch.”

While much of our hour-long video call from his holiday in Greece focused on the fresh headaches caused by the Sussexes’ return to England, only one of the 16 chapters in the books is centred on them.

One reflects on the other family member wreaking havoc on the Firm, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Describing the King’s brother as arrogant, entitled and motivated by money, Dickie charts his demise and evaluates how both monarchs responded to the crisis in front of them. Chatting with me, he rebuffs the repeated notion that Andrew was the late Queen’s ‘favourite son’, but he believes she looked more fondly towards her youngest, Edward – it was simply that Andrew always ensured he was front and centre.

However, Dickie says Elizabeth would have found it incredibly difficult to strip Andrew of his titles and banish him to Sandringham, as Charles did last October. He explained away the criticism that the King was too slow to respond to the allegations against his brother, stating simply that “he doesn’t knee-jerk” and needed to take into account legal advice, especially as the Palace wanted to avoid involving Parliament in the removal of his titles.

“The king took the decision. He took the right decision. Stripped him of everything, got him booted out of Royal Lodge, Windsor, and housed him on the Sandringham Estate, where he belongs.” It’s in the police’s hands now, Dickie says, clear in his view that the King has done all that he can.

The Prince of Wales with his spokesman Dickie Arbiter (right) during his tour of Poland (Image: Unknown)

The rest of the book draws on Dickie’s unique experience as having genuine first-hand experience of working directly with the immediate Royal Family, to reflect on the Carolean era, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s burgeoning popularity and sheds light on some of his challenging moments inside the Palace (the conflicting demands of a couple on the brink of divorce is a recurring theme).

Dickie also provides readers with a fresh insight into what the late Queen, Prince Philip, the King and other senior royals were like when the cameras weren’t rolling. How they approached moments of conflict and crisis, times of celebration and the job in hand.

He speaks of the former monarch’s wartime habits of frugalness, meaning she was a stickler for turning off unused lights or repairing worn clothing, her genuine warmth and kindness and her strict attention to detail in all matters. Turning his attention to the current monarch, Dickie says that after their first meeting more than 45 years ago, he knew Charles was “one of the most intellectually engaged royals of the modern era”.

He described a man determined to make a difference, who “felt criticism personally because he cared so deeply about the outcomes of his work” and his conviction, wisdom and skill were finally realised by people across the globe following his successful US state visit earlier this year.

When it comes to William, Dickie describes a man who projects openness, authenticity and an unwavering loyalty to the Crown and his family. He’s managed to balance duty with his determination to put his family first, with every decision centred on ensuring their three children have a private, peaceful childhood.

“Straddling the divide between being a future king and someone Britons would want to grab a pint with, he has built a barrier of mystique yet maintained an air of accessibility,” he writes.

In Catherine, he has found his anchor, and when the time comes, they will face the future together as an equal unit.