Prince Harry Hasn’t Spoken to Prince William and King Charles in ‘A While’
In his 60 Minutes interview Sunday night, Prince Harry revealed that he isn’t currently speaking to his brother, Prince William, or father, King Charles III, and hasn’t talked to them in some time. The revelation comes as the Duke of Sussex prepares to release his memoir Spare on January 10, which has already made headlines for including shocking private details about his personal life, the royal family, and how they treated Harry’s now wife Meghan Markle.
When journalist Anderson Cooper asked Prince Harry if he’s still speaking to or texting Prince William, Harry responded, “Currently, no. But I look forward to—I look forward to us being able to find peace.” He added that it’s been “a while” since they last spoke.
As for whether he’s speaking to his dad, Harry said, “We aren’t—we haven’t spoken for quite a while. No, not recently.”
Despite experiencing a “full-scale rupture” from the royals, as he writes in Spare, Prince Harry still believes that he and his family can heal. “The ball is very much in their court, but, you know, Meghan and I have continued to say that we will openly apologize for anything that we did wrong, but every time we ask that question, no one’s telling us the specifics or anything,” Harry said. “There needs to be a constructive conversation, one that can happen in private that doesn’t get leaked.”
Revelations in Spare made headlines this past week, including Harry detailing a physical altercation between him and William that took place in 2019. Harry reportedly recalls a confrontation regarding Meghan, which escalated to the point that William “knocked me to the floor.” In both the book and his 60 Minutes sit-down, Harry clarified that William apologized after the fight.
At the end of his interview with Cooper, Harry said that underneath the salacious headlines and tabloid drama between him and the royals, they are still a family. In fact, “without the British press as part of this,” he said, “we would probably still be a fairly dysfunctional family, like, a lot are. But at the heart of it, there is a family, without question. And I really look forward to having that family element back.”
Although he can’t see himself returning as a working member of the royal firm, he does hope to repair his relationship with his family members.
“I look forward to having a relationship with my brother,” Harry said. “I look forward to having a relationship with my father and other members of my family.”
Erica Gonzales is the Senior Culture Editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage on TV, movies, music, books, and more. She was previously an editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com. There is a 75 percent chance she’s listening to Lorde right now.