The key facts
- Harry in the GQ interview: 'I want it to happen' — about reconciling with his family
- Sussex spokesperson: the publication date was chosen by the publisher, the phrase was not a dig at William
- Harry and Meghan returned to the UK in August with children Archie and Lilibet
GQ interview and call for reconciliation
The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, said in an interview with GQ magazine that he wants to mend his strained relationship with his father and brother. 'Some people don't want it to happen. I want it to happen. With everything going on in the world, the most important thing is reconciliation, that's the key point,' he said. According to him, 'scars remain forever,' but how one perceives the past and the willingness to let it go is what he calls on everyone to do. The interview was recorded in New York in September and published on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, when the royal family in Windsor was hosting the Sultan of Oman at the start of a state visit.
Reaction from the Sussexes' representatives
A spokesperson for the Sussexes stressed that the interview was recorded in late September and that the publication date was chosen solely by the publisher, and that 'nothing should be read into it.' According to the spokesperson, the phrase 'some people don't want it to happen' was not a dig at Prince William or other members of the family.
Context: return to the UK
Harry and Meghan moved from the UK to the US in 2020, stepping back from their duties as working members of the royal family in circumstances that the BBC describes as conflictual. Harry's memoir 'Spare' revealed the depth of the family rift and the damaged relationship with his brother William. In August 2026, six years later, Harry and Meghan returned to the UK with their children — seven-year-old Prince Archie and five-year-old Princess Lilibet. Last week, Harry and Meghan held their first joint public engagement since their return.
On family, loss and sympathy
Harry called the subject of family rifts 'massively relatable': 'Disagreements between brothers and sisters, broken relationships between children and parents — it comes up constantly in conversations with people.' He also spoke about the feeling of loss after the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997: 'I like that I can now carry my mother's memory with me in my work, rather than letting it drag me down or sinking into grief.' He rejected any desire for public sympathy: 'I'm a prince, I have a support network, I've been through various forms of therapy and done the work.' Harry had already voiced a similar message about wanting to 'build bridges' in a BBC interview in May 2025.
Previous statements about the conflict
According to Anadolu, in 2021 Meghan said that family members had expressed concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin tone might be, which caused irreparable damage to relations with Buckingham Palace. Harry later spoke of a 'high level of unconscious bias' in the royal family in a Netflix documentary series.
Image source, Reuters Prince Harry carried out visits in Nottingham last week
