2024-09-16 15:45:21
On his 40th birthday, Prince Harry seems to be in a deep crisis of meaning. Can he make a fresh start with his family and the public?
Prince Harry is at a dead end. “He can no longer just trade on the fact that he comes from the royal family,” says British royal expert Tom Quinn in an interview with t-online. “Harry will find that he is slipping further and further into insignificance unless he finds a real purpose for himself. But that is more than difficult because he was only trained to be a royal.”
“His new life in the USA is still very much about his old life in the United Kingdom,” says ARD royal expert Leontine von Schmettow in an interview with t-online. Harry’s story seems to have been told – in an autobiography, a Netflix documentary and an interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey.
“His professional challenge now is to find new sources of income to maintain his luxurious lifestyle. And to do this without revealing any more family secrets and thus further damaging his relationship with the family – if that is even possible.” This seems to be Harry’s private challenge for the coming years: to reconcile with his own family in London.
According to royal expert Tom Quinn, this will be difficult: “Neither William nor Charles are in a position to trust Harry. They must fear that any future disagreement will be aired in a new book or in a television interview.”
In particular, the relationship with his brother William seems irreparable. “If William becomes king, the situation with Harry could get even worse,” says Tom Quinn. William takes his royal duties and his inheritance as heir to the throne too seriously. “The relationship seems to have been permanently damaged. That is why William, as king, will only let his brother get close to him if he can be absolutely sure that Harry will not divulge any more internal information and thereby endanger the royal family,” Leontine von Schmettow also believes.
The royal family may no longer have to fear anything from their former rebel. “My impression is that Harry now wants to make peace,” says Leontine von Schmettow. This fits with the announcement by his publisher, which many have interpreted as a possible attempt at reconciliation: In October, the paperback edition of Harry’s memoirs will be published without any new chapters and thus without any further revelations. Perhaps an attempt to get closer to his family and very likely an important PR move.
This may also be the reason why both Charles and Camilla and William and Kate sent birthday greetings to Harry this year – a behavior that has not been seen for years. Read more about the royals’ congratulations here.
“He can only polish his battered image by not continuing to attack the royal family. Especially now that people are showing a lot of sympathy for Kate, who is suffering from cancer, and for the king, who is suffering from cancer.”
According to the Daily Mail, Harry’s popularity reached an all-time high of 70 percent in 2017. Since then, his reputation has steadily declined. In order to improve public opinion, he must also stop seeing himself as a victim and, in some cases, portraying himself as such, says Leontine von Schmettow. “Many people can’t stand hearing that anymore. After all, everyone has their own problems to deal with and Prince Harry is and remains in a very privileged situation.”
In addition, there are always negative reports about Harry and Meghan’s behavior towards employees. A recent exposé by the US magazine “The Hollywood Reporter” did not help matters. Quite the opposite.