Prince Harry Is Heading Back to the U.K. Can William Forgive Him?

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Who will Harry see in the U.K. next week?

Prince Harry is to return to the U.K. next week for a church service celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, his paralympic-style games event for wounded servicemen.

Harry’s potential attendance at the service on May 8 has been rumored for weeks. However, it was finally confirmed Sunday morning on Invictus social media accounts.

There was no mention of Meghan Markle in the announcement, and she is not expected to join her husband, but The Daily Beast has approached the Sussexes office for clarification on the matter.

There will now be intense focus on which members of the royal family Harry will meet when in the U.K.

Spokespeople for the U.K. royals did not respond to requests for comment, but Harry is understood to be on improved terms with his father King Charles, whom he raced over to see after his cancer diagnosis, and is likely to want to meet him. His father, who has recently said he will return to public duties, may well reciprocate. However, relations with Queen Camilla are still understood to be fraught following his public attacks on her, and Harry has recently chosen not to wear a Coronation medal bearing Charles and Camilla’s likeness.

Prince William is understood not to have spoken to Harry since Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis. He believes Harry “sold out” the royal family by making tens of millions of dollars by revealing family secrets in Spare.

Harry’s camp have let it be known he reached out privately to the princess after her cancer diagnosis. However, Harry was not told about her diagnosis in advance of Kate’s bombshell video message, suggesting trust is strained between the two parties.

The timing of the announcement on a weekend when royal aides might have hoped the focus would be on the king’s return to work this week is likely to infuriate palace aides.

Harry’s trip home coincides with fresh reports about how he appears to have snubbed Charles by not wearing his Coronation medal when donning military awards.

Harry was one of just 400 recipients of the medal, but, according to reports in multiple media outlets, he has not worn the medal on recent occasions when he has worn his other medals.

Could it be that Harry objects to having a likeness of Camilla pinned to his chest? He did after all says she was “dangerous” prepared to leave “bodies on the street” and “sacrificed” him for her own PR in his book.

Charles wants to be seen back at work

What next for King Charles, as he prepares to return to work this week, 11 weeks after being diagnosed with cancer? A palace source told The Times: “The king’s treatment and progress have now reached such a stage that the threshold of risk has reduced to such an extent that he can now take part in public duties both inside and out.”

One of the king’s major ambitions, the Sun on Sunday reports, is to ride his horse, Noble, at Trooping the Color, which celebrates the monarch’s official birthday in June. The paper says he wants to be seen to “lead from the front.” However, medics are still reportedly advising caution. As Charles embarks on his return to public duties, his doctors will reportedly be monitoring his health in a number of ways, including his fatigue levels.

An insider told the Sun: “It is a sign of the King’s desire to get back to work and follow the mantra of the late Queen Elizabeth II that a monarch needs to be seen. “The king wants to lead from the front. He’s been quite clear that he is raring to go. He doesn’t need to appear on horseback at Trooping the Color because his mother did stand down when she was 60, but believes if it can be achieved—and with the agreement of royal doctors—then he wants it to happen. There will obviously be a lot of nervousness and an extraordinary amount of checks to make sure appearing on horseback will not be detrimental to his health or recovery. But the king rightly believes it is important he is at least there in some capacity.”

One of Charles’ first engagements will be to visit a cancer treatment center with Queen Camilla on Tuesday, and in June he will host the Emperor and Empress of Japan for a state visit.

In a statement released Friday, the palace said, “His Majesty The King will shortly return to public-facing duties after a period of treatment and recuperation following his recent cancer diagnosis.

“To help mark this milestone, The King and Queen will make a joint visit to a cancer treatment center next Tuesday, where they will meet medical specialists and patients. This visit will be the first in a number of external engagements His Majesty will undertake in the weeks ahead.

“In addition, The King and Queen will host Their Majesties The Emperor and Empress of Japan for a State Visit in June, at the request of HM Government.

“As the first anniversary of the Coronation approaches, Their Majesties remain deeply grateful for the many kindnesses and good wishes they have received from around the world throughout the joys and challenges of the past year.”

A palace spokesperson said that Charles’ treatment was not yet over and it was “too early to say” how long it would last, his “medical team are very encouraged by the progress made so far and remain positive about the king’s recovery.”

The spokesperson added: “His Majesty’s treatment program will continue, but doctors are sufficiently pleased with the progress made so far that the King is now able to resume a number of public-facing duties. Forthcoming engagements will be adapted where necessary to minimize any risks to His Majesty’s continued recovery.”

The Times details how his last few months have been, a royal source saying that Charles had been “immensely cheered” by the cards and get-well-soon messages he had received, as well as the increased traffic to cancer organizations’ websites.

Like Camilla, who had gone away on holiday, Charles had been planning some “down time,” but his outpatient treatment made him return to London every week. A medical team reportedly came to him, rather than he go to hospital. “He filled the week with meetings with foreign dignitaries and other engagements,” the paper said.

At Sandringham, the paper said, Charles has overseen the progress of a “health lawn” featuring “plants and bulbs specifically chosen for their health benefits, such as echinacea, lavender, delphinium and phlox.”

He has tried to keep with daily business, including receiving the famous red boxes of government papers.

Going forward, the Times reported, “Doctors will be consulted along the way, however, to choreograph his movements and ensure that every aspect of an engagement—the transit, the accommodation, the number of people he can greet—is assessed before confirming his involvement.”

Charles’ cancer journey so far

Charles’ cancer journey began on Jan. 17 when, after experiencing discomfort at his Scottish home of Birkhall, a doctor diagnosed him with a benign enlarged prostate. On Jan. 26, he was admitted to The London Clinic, a private hospital, where he underwent treatment for the condition.

In an extraordinary twist of fate, Princess Kate was also in the hospital, recovering from abdominal surgery which was not at the time thought to be cancerous, although cancer was subsequently diagnosed.

Something similar happened to Charles; on Feb. 5, Buckingham Palace announced cancer had been found while the procedure was taking place. The palace did not specify what type of cancer he had, but did say it was not prostate cancer. They said he would start treatment immediately. Prince Harry raced back to the U.K. to see his father, adding a sense of urgency to the situation.

Britain’s Prime Minister tried to calm nerves by saying that the cancer had been “caught early.” The palace said the king would have to retreat from view while the treatment was ongoing. They emphasized that although he had been advised to withdraw from “public-facing duties,” the king would “continue to undertake state business and official paperwork as usual.” He has made videos since the diagnosis, and has been photographed being driven through London.

Since then the palace has not given any updates on Charles’ condition until Friday. Although he has sometimes appeared gaunt and weary, and The Daily Beast has been told that he is more unwell than the palace is suggesting, public sentiment was hugely buoyed when he appeared at an Easter Day service and spent some time after the service chatting to the public and shaking hands with up to 56 well-wishers.

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Gone sour

Guess someone didn’t get some jam. Justin Trudeau’s ex-wife Sophie has given a distinctly cool shoulder to Meghan Markle. Although Meghan once described Sophie in a podcast as a “dear friend,” who was “emblematic of strength” and claimed Trudeau “used to send me little meditations during my pregnancy’ and said she had “gone to her over the years for advice,” it seems recollections vary.

In a new interview with The London Times, Trudeau says of Meghan. “I know her,” before adding they haven’t spent much time together. In fact, in the Times’s telling, she swiftly pivots to Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis: “My heart just sunk when I saw what was happening.” Ouch!

Harry savaged by his army teacher

The army instructor who trained Prince Harry how to fly Apache helicopters has launched an attack on his former student.

Steve Jones, a former Sergeant Major slammed Harry in the Telegraph for revealing in his book that he killed 25 people when flying the machines in Afghanistan and said he was disappointed by Harry’s choices in recent years.

Jones, author of new book: Apache at War: Flying the World’s Deadliest Attack Helicopter in Combat, trained Harry how to operate the fearsome aircraft.

Although he praises Harry’s ability as an Apache gunner, saying he got no special treatment, he paints a not-entirely positive picture of Harry, saying: “He tended to concentrate on the smaller things, sometimes to the detriment of the bigger picture,” adding, “He would try and be very picky and accurate. The whole world might be burning down behind him, but as long as he could get 35 knots [he would be happy]… He was good at the finer detail but at times he was perhaps too narrow-minded and focused. But in the end he did really well.”

He adds Harry would sometimes make ill-timed quips and says he feels “disappointed” by Harry leaving military life.

He told the Telegraph: “I feel gutted he’s not at the head of the military as he used to be. I’m grateful to have met him and flown with him. I think he has done his bit for his country. We can never take that away from him. He’s done an Apache course. He’ll always be one of us.”

However, Jones excoriated Harry for writing in his book that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan. Harry included an account of pursuing an alleged Taliban fighter riding a clapped-out motorbike in his $40 million aircraft and “begging” for permission to kill the man (which was denied). He described his victims as “chess pieces.”

Jones told the Telegraph: “It’s not what we’re about. We’re not here to say, ‘I did this, I did that.’ It’s not a game. These are real people. They’ve got families. I wouldn’t have made any comment. I get a very uneasy feeling for anybody who says ‘I killed 10.’ It’s not what should be said, at all. But [Harry] did have a successful tour. It’s a shame he didn’t hang around to do more but I guess he ticked that box and scratched that itch and moved on. I would say he’s stepped backwards in a way, from the way he was to [how he is] now.”

Prince Philip’s funny faces

The author and TV personality Gyles Brandreth has turned his eye on Prince William. The former member of parliament, who became one of the late Prince Philip’s best friends and published biographies of both him and the queen after their deaths, tells the Daily Telegraph: “Prince William combines a mixture of the late queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. He has the calm of the late queen with the enthusiasm of the Duke of Edinburgh. He could be almost too robust at times but, while Prince William is also very hands-on, there is a restraint about him.”

It’s a micro-portrait of Prince William that many of his fans will recognize, even if less hagiographically-minded acquaintances might note he certainly has the late duke’s irascible streak.

Brandreth and William are working together now because William has taken on one of his grandfather’s key patronages; Fields in Trust, a charity that fights to protect parks and green spaces.

Brandreth says Philip liked to quote Mark Twain’s aphorism: “The trouble with land is they have stopped making it.”

He has some funny stories about Philip in his book, and another one here, which took place when they were waiting at traffic lights, deserves to join the canon. Some boys in the car stopped next to them recognized him and Philip stuck out his tongue, held on to his ears and waggled his fingers. The boys “did it back.”

This week in royal history

Prince William and Kate Middleton celebrate their 13th wedding anniversary tomorrow, April 29. They were married on that day in 2011 at Westminster Abbey.

Unanswered questions

Who in his family will Harry see on his trip to the U.K.—if anyone? How will Charles approach his first full day back on the job Tuesday? And how is his health more generally?

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