There seems to have been little improvement in the relations between Prince Harry and the other senior royals despite the challenging year the Royal Family has faced, an expert has claimed.

reported in The Express, royal expert Jennie Bond claimed it isn’t the Duke of Sussex who is the blockage in making amends, but instead two senior royals, who are at this stage uninterested in reconciliation. She claims it is, in fact, King Charles and Prince William who are refusing to back down when it comes to Harry. The expert – who formerly worked as the BBC’s royal correspondent – said that in her view, the Duke of Sussex is the party willing to let bygones be bygones, but is met with a “resistant” attitude from his father and brother.

“Early on it was Harry, who was demanding an apology. There was going to be no meeting of minds or meeting in reality until there was an apology for the affronts he thought had been made to his wife. But now I think the tables have turned somewhat. Messages coming from Harry’s side are that he’s ready at least to forgive and that he loves his family. He’s said that quite publicly. He wants to see more of them. But it is Charles and William who seem to be resisting reconciliation at this point so I think it was first one, then the other,” the expert said.

Harry hasn’t been shy about detailing his issues with his royal relatives, and in his memoir Spare traced many of them back to his childhood. However, when it was announced earlier in the year that King Charles had been diagnosed with cancer, and would be forced to temporarily step away from “public-facing duties” whilst he underwent initial treatment, Harry rushed back to the UK to see his father.

It was a whistlestop visit, with the father and son reportedly only spending 45 minutes together before King Charles travelled to Sandringham to rest. The next time Harry returned to the UK in May, for a special service at St. Paul’s Cathedral to mark 10 years of the Invictus Games, he did not see his father, or his brother William, whilst his maternal side of the family – the Spencers – came out in full force to support Harry and his work on Invictus.

“The Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme,” said Harry’s spokesperson at the time, adding: “The Duke, of course, is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon”.

Nor did Harry meet with Charles and William when he came back to the UK in September for the WellChild Awards, however, both of the brothers attended a memorial service for their uncle, Lord Robert Fellowes, in August, but are reported not to have spoken whilst they were there.