As William prepares for his future role, Harry seeks to rebuild his reputation despite enjoying life in California away from royal duties.

Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the British Royal Family has had to face a series of bad news. It started with King Charles announcing in February that he was suffering from cancer. Later, Kate Middleton, wife of Prince William, also announced she was diagnosed with the disease.

Reports claim that the family is leaving no stone unturned in Charles’ treatment but William, the next in line for the throne, has started his own preparations to take the bigger role.

In a column in The Daily Beast, royal family correspondent Tom Sykes said that he has appointed Ian Patrick, a former diplomat as his private secretary.

However, Sykes said that Harry is his father’s “darling boy” and is “much more likely” to make a deal with Charles than William.

“And the truth is Harry is much more likely to be able to make a deal with King Charles III than King William V,” he wrote in the column.

However, Sykes added that the change of reign won’t really affect Harry’s wife Meghan Markle, “who seems quite happy being implacably at war with the British royal family”.

“One royal source told me that some insiders believe Harry went about cashing in on his family’s secrets in the expectation that he would be able to work his way back into the royal fold because of his father’s affection for his ‘darling boy’,” he wrote.

He also quoted a source saying that Harry was “tired” of playing a “bit part” in a narrative of family drama and “would like nothing more than to recover his reputation” and “perhaps even become known, in time, as a serious player in the philanthropic world”.

However, he added that Harry does not want to trade the glorious California sunshine and the freedom he, his wife, and kids have for a return to the stultifying goldfish bowl of royal life.

“But he would like to be a regular part of the philanthropic/social activism space again, rather than being a fixture of the gossip rags,” he said in the column.

He also added that Charles “adores” Harry and “is devastated” by the split in the family. Charles, according to Sykes, would “dearly love to mend it, not just for personal reasons, but also for his legacy”.

“Charles the Unifier/Healer/Magnanimous sounds much better than what he seems set for at the moment, Charles the Very Unlucky,” he wrote.