Second born of the king of England, Prince Harry, has expressed his desire to repair his strained relationships with his father, King Charles III, and his elder brother, Prince William, saying reconciliation is important amid other challenges facing the world.
In an interview with GQ magazine in New York released on Tuesday, Harry said he remained hopeful that the family rift could be resolved, despite opposition from some quarters.
“Some people don’t want it to work out. 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,” he said.
Harry also spoke about dealing with past hurts, encouraging people to let go of painful experiences and adopt a different perspective.
“Scars stick around forever. But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, letting go of the past, that’s something that I would encourage everybody to do,” he said.
The Duke of Sussex acknowledged that the public remained interested in the family’s disagreements, describing them as “massively relatable”.
“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,” he said.
Asked about his reasons for wanting to spend more time in the UK, Harry said the move would create opportunities for his family, particularly his children, Archie and Lilibet.
Harry said: “Opportunities for the family. Being able to put the kids in a British school has meant a lot to me. I didn’t know how important it was to me.
“They (Archie and Lilibet) are loving it, and it’s just giving them a whole different experience.
“To be back, closer to my family, and to be back on UK soil for longer than a few days or a week here or there,” he told the magazine.
On the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, Harry said he had found a way to honour her memory through his work than remain weighed down by grief, and also gave an update on King Charles’s health following the monarch’s cancer treatment, saying, “He’s getting better.”
“I love the fact that I’m able to now sort of carry the memory of my mother with me, with my work, rather than it hold me down, pull me back, or wallow in that grief.
“I certainly don’t want any sympathy. That’s where we’re way past that. Why? Because I’m a prince. I’ve got a support network around me, I’ve done different forms of therapy, and I put in the work. I wonder where I would be if I didn’t – it could be a very different situation.”
(Photo: Reuters)