Prince Harry denies he has no friends or purpose and seeks a return to royal life

Prince Harry, or “well-placed sources” close to him, are pushing back against a bombshell report over the weekend that portrayed him as so lonely and lacking in purpose in the United States that he wants to find a way to reconcile with his father, King Charles III, and start working for the royal family again.

Multiple sources close to the California-based Duke of Sussex insisted to reporters with the U.K.’s Telegraph that he’s not having a mid-life crisis as he turns 40 on Sept. 15. Instead, he is  “happy” in his marriage to Meghan Markle and “settled” in Montecito. Harry also has an “amazing” new set of friends in the United States and several promising philanthropic and professional projects on the horizon, the sources said.

Harry therefore has “no interest” in returning to royal duties in the U.K. and is focused solely on his future in the United States, the sources also said.

However, another group of sources told the Mail on Sunday that Harry has been “turning away from all sorts of Hollywood publicists and is seeking counsel from his old friends and associates.”

Those old friends and former royal aides include people he reportedly lost contact with after he and Meghan acrimoniously quit royal duties in 2020 and moved to the United States in search of financial independence and lucrative careers as media moguls, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and global thought leaders.

Some of Harry’s long-time British friends reportedly were turned off by the way that he and Meghan tried to capitalize on their grievances against the royal family. Harry especially disappointed some in the way he used his interview with 2021 Oprah Winfrey and his best-selling 2023 memoir “Spare” to reveal family secrets and to allege that certain family members were cold, dysfunctional or engaged in various forms of bullying, backstabbing and even racism — or “unconscious bias” as Harry later backtracked.

The Mail on Sunday reported that overtures from Harry to his old friends and associates signify the first stage in a strategy to “rehabilitate” him. The strategy would eventually involve Harry spending more time in the U.K. to repair his relationship with his father, who is undergoing treatment for cancer, and to potentially initiate a partial return to the royal fold. Some of these friends have even dubbed this effort, “Operation Bring Harry In From the Cold.”

For Harry’s part, “he is clearly reaching out thinking, ‘I need to do something different because what I’m doing is clearly not working,'” a source told the Mail on Sunday. “In short, he is rethinking the way he operates.”

What’s “not working” includes Harry and Meghan losing their multimillion-dollar deal to produce a slate of podcasts for Spotify and a report last month that Netflix does not intend to renew its splashy five-year, $100 million contract with the couple.

While industry newsletter Puck reported that the couple’s 2022 docuseries, “Harry and Meghan,” about their departure from their unhappy royal lives, was a blockbuster hit, critics say it only attracted viewers because the couple dished dirt about the British monarchy. Puck also reported that Meghan’s forthcoming cooking show and Harry’s announced polo series are two “offerings” that aren’t expected to “connect” with audiences.

Over the past year, the couple also have been the subject of reports in The Wrap and other industry trade publications claiming that they’ve “worn out their welcome” in Hollywood and squandered opportunities because they are demanding to work with but lack experience.

As much as their fans deny it, Harry and Meghan have generally become divisive figures in both the United States and in the U.K., exemplified by the fact that the British army veteran and Invictus Games founder faced controversy when he agreed to accept an ESPYS award named for Pat Tillman, the San Jose-reared NFL player and war hero who died in Afghanistan in 2004. Among those questioning Harry’s choice to accept the honor was a retired British military leader and Tillman’s own mother, Mary Tillman.

It’s clear that Harry and Meghan have had a rough time as they’ve tried to chart a path for themselves in the United States that doesn’t involve working for the royal family. But their journey has become complicated by the fact that Harry has become estranged from his father and from his older brother, Prince William, with whom Harry was once so close.

Friends of the family of his late mother, Princess Diana, have told the Daily Beast that they are hopeful that Harry and William can one day reconcile and are doing what they can to encourage their rapprochement. These friends were encouraged by the fact that Harry visited the U.K. last week to attend the funeral of his uncle, Robert Fellowes, who was married to Diana’s elder sister, Jane.

William, too, was at the funeral. But reports also said that the brothers didn’t speak to each other at the funeral, and it also has been reported that William does not want his younger brother at his eventual coronation, Page Six said. 

So, it’s probably not realistic for anyone to expect Harry to end his rancorous feud with William anytime soon, the Mail on Sunday reported. But the Daily Mail reported last week that Charles is still open to healing his rift with his son. Then again, sources also told People last month that the king has reportedly stopped taking his son’s calls.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the renegade royal is open to ideas “from many sources” about how to patch things up with his father and to do his part to ensure that “Operation Bring Harry In From the Cold” succeeds. One friend has reportedly devised a strategy for how Harry might begin moving in UK circles again — and to even carry out “very low-key royal duties.”

A source said this friend “believes if Harry comes back to the U.K. with zero fuss, and does zero publicity and attends very mundane events, he could prove himself and win over the British public again.”