“Harry and Meghan could have taken a great weight off their shoulders.”

In recent months, reports have suggested Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry are ready to heal the royal family rift. Conversely, other sources have hinted at continued discord between the two couples. One article, for instance, alleged Princess Kate and Prince William felt “pettiness” and “jealousy” because of Meghan’s popularity. Now The Sun is reporting that Kate and William are frustrated by Meghan and Harry.

Royal expert Phil Dampier spoke to the publication, and suggested that Meghan and Harry’s absence from the U.K. had become more obvious in 2024. As Princess Kate and King Charles had stepped back from royal duties following their respective cancer diagnoses, there were few senior royals to stand in for their duties.

“All of a sudden, the slimmed-down monarchy by default is looking very slim, so they are thin on the ground,” Dampier explained, “and obviously, were they still working royals, Harry and Meghan could have taken up a lot of the slack.” He continued, “So it is frustrating.”

According to Dampier, the royal family has little option but to remain patient until Kate and William’s children are older. “But we are where we are, and in some ways, you know, we’re going to have to wait until George, Charlotte, and Louis are another 10 years older before they can start performing duties,” he explained. “And in the meantime, it’s going to be difficult.”

“Harry and Meghan could have taken a great weight off their shoulders,” a royal expert suggested.

Dampier also noted that Harry and Meghan would have been the perfect people to stand in for Kate and Charles during their health crises. “Harry and Meghan could have taken a great weight off their shoulders, and certainly the late Queen had massive plans for Harry and Meghan,” he told the publication.

Obviously, Meghan and Harry have started a new life in California, and they stepped back from their royal roles for a plethora of reasons. For instance, during her interview with Oprah Winfrey, Duchess Meghan revealed she’d experienced heinous racism in the U.K., which was allegedly instigated by both the press and members of the royal family.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also plan to embark on another royal tour, this time to Colombia, and the Prince and Princess of Wales are allegedly wary of the couple’s travel plans. “Now that they [have] set up as this kind of rival court, they will obviously hope that things they do don’t overlap what William’s doing,” Dampier claimed. “But it’s just tragic that it’s come to this, that they’re doing their own thing.”