Prince Harry and Meghan Markle don’t seem to be planning on returning to the United Kingdom any time soon, but according to a royal expert, they should begin to consider it, because if they change their minds later on, it might be too late.

Royal fans have been pushing for the Duke and Duchess to reconcile with the royal family, mostly due to King Charles and Kate Middleton’s devastating cancer diagnosis, but there might be another reason. New reports suggest that, once Prince William becomes king, he might close the door on his brother forever.

Prince William Might Ban Harry And Meghan From Returning To The Family Once He’s King

Everyone knows the relationship between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the rest of the royal family is incredibly strained, but apparently, the biggest rift is between the brothers. A royal expert has spoken about the possibility of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle returning to the royal family and warned the younger Prince that, if that’s something he wants, he needs to hurry, because that window of opportunity might be closing soon.

Royal expert Richard Eden called the Duke and Duchess “irrelevant now,” and said they are “not wanted as part of the monarchy.” He said that King Charles might be more forgiving, but Prince William will probably not want to welcome him once he becomes King.

“If Harry wants to come back at any stage, he needs to do it while his father is still King because I really do think that when Prince William is King, would he even take the calls from his brother?” Richard Eden mused.

“Can you imagine?” he went on. “I really can’t see him letting Harry come back and have a role again, they are irrelevant now, they are not wanted as part of the monarchy.”

With King Charles’ health allegedly rapidly deteriorating, Prince Harry might have to hurry to make amends.

Prince Harry Talked About Leaving The Royal Family

While Prince Harry might be interested in repairing his relationship with his family, he doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to return to life as a royal. The Prince believes that leaving the monarchy was the right choice for him and Meghan Markle, mostly because they didn’t feel safe in the UK. That doesn’t mean it didn’t make him sad having to leave his whole life behind, but he ultimately thinks it was the right choice.

“Once upon a time, this was going to be my forever home. Instead it had proved to be just another brief stop,” he said about the UK.

Prince Harry will have to stay in a hotel after the royal family denied his request to stay at Windsor Castle.

In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry spoke about returning to his home country for the first time for Prince Phillip’s funeral in 20221, and the conflicting feelings it caused.

“When my wife and I fled this place, in fear for our sanity and physical safety, I wasn’t sure when I’d ever come back,” he explained. “That was January 2020. Now, fifteen months later, here I was, days after waking to thirty-two missed calls and then one short, heart-racing talk with Granny: Harry… Grandpa’s gone.”

It has to be difficult for the whole family to navigate these complicated feelings. Thankfully they will make their peace while there’s still time.