Prince Harry Urges Reconciliation With Royal Family

Prince Harry has renewed his appeal to repair his strained relationships with King Charles III and Prince William, saying reconciliation is his priority amid ongoing family tensions. In a video interview with GQ host Zach Baron, recorded in September and released Tuesday, October 20, 2026, the Duke of Sussex discussed the personal impact of family disputes and the possibility of moving beyond past disagreements.

Asked whether he grieved his relationships with his father, 77, and brother, 44, Harry acknowledged the emotional toll and said family conflict was an experience many people could relate to.

"Yes, of course," Harry said.

He connected his circumstances with the difficulties other families face, including disagreements between siblings and strained relationships between parents and children.

"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." Harry said.

Harry also acknowledged that some observers might see his family's circumstances as an example of how damaged relationships could be repaired.

"Some people maybe look at us and go, ‘How are you gonna work it out? Maybe that will help me work my stuff out,’" Harry said.

He then distinguished his own position from people who might not want a reconciliation.

"Some people don't want it to work out," Harry said.

Despite the difficulties, Harry emphasized his desire to resolve the dispute and described reconciliation as particularly important given other problems facing the world.

"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." Harry said.

Baron subsequently asked whether the family's emotional injury could be repaired. Harry acknowledged that painful experiences can leave lasting effects but emphasized the importance of changing one's perspective and letting go of the past.

"Scars stick around forever." Harry said.

He explained that the way people understand past events can influence their ability to move forward.

"But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, letting go of the past," Harry said.

Harry encouraged people to consider whether unresolved experiences continued to affect their everyday lives.

"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." Harry said.

He added that ongoing family disputes could compound the difficulties people already experience in their lives.

"But, for me, there's enough drama in the world and enough drama in people's lives to continue with issues with family," Harry said.

After the interview appeared, some commentators speculated that Harry's reference to people who did not want reconciliation was directed at William. A representative for Harry rejected that interpretation in a statement to People magazine.

"was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family." Harry's spokesperson said.

The representative further clarified the context of the remark.

"The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way," Harry's representative said.

The brothers' relationship has faced public scrutiny since Harry married Meghan Markle, formerly an actress on the television series "Suits," in 2018. Harry acknowledged their differences in an October 2019 interview with ITV.

"always be brothers," Harry said.

He also described the divergence in their lives.

"different paths" Harry said.

Harry and Markle stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in January 2020, later moving to California after initially relocating to Canada. In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the couple described their difficulties with the royal institution and alleged that an unnamed member of the family had made racist remarks.

Harry discussed his relationship with Charles during the same interview, expressing disappointment while maintaining his affection for his father.

"really let down" Harry said.

He also expressed his continuing love for Charles and his intention to repair their relationship.

"always love" Harry said.

Harry described efforts to rebuild the relationship as a personal priority.

"to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship." Harry said.

In the interview, Harry also spoke affectionately about William while acknowledging their differences.

"to bits" Harry said.

He again characterized their lives as moving in different directions.

"different paths." Harry said.

Harry described the relationship as having distance between the brothers while expressing hope that time might improve matters.

"space" Harry said.

He also expressed hope that their relationship could improve with time.

"time heals all things." Harry said.

The dispute became more public following the release of the couple's Netflix series, "Harry & Meghan," in 2022. In January 2023, Harry published his memoir, "Spare," which detailed private disagreements with Charles and William and alleged that William physically attacked him during a 2019 argument about Markle. Buckingham Palace declined to respond publicly to the allegations.

In a January 2023 ITV interview promoting his memoir, Harry said forgiveness remained possible and expressed a desire to restore his relationships with his father and brother.

"Forgiveness is 100% a possibility because I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back." Harry said.

He acknowledged that the brothers' views of each other had changed.

"At the moment, I don't recognize them, as much as they probably don't recognize me," Harry said.

Harry also said reconciliation would require accountability rather than simply overlooking past disputes.

"Though I would like to have reconciliation, I would like accountability," Harry said.

He explained that making peace with past events did not mean abandoning the need to address them.

"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 said.

Harry renewed his public appeal during a BBC interview in May 2025, following the loss of his legal challenge over security arrangements in the United Kingdom.

"I would love reconciliation with my family," Harry said.

He argued that continuing the conflict was not worthwhile.

"There’s no point in continuing to fight any more. Life is precious." Harry said.

Harry also referred to uncertainty surrounding his father's future amid Charles' health problems.

"I don’t know how much longer my father has," Harry said.

Charles was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer in February 2024 and continues to receive medical treatment. During the 2025 interview, Harry said he was not in contact with his father and attributed the situation to disagreements over security arrangements in Britain.

"He won't speak to me because of this security stuff." Harry said.

Harry also indicated that he had reached a point where he could forgive some past family disputes.

"things that have happened that I can now forgive" Harry said.