Will Prince Harry ever apologise for 'hurt' he's caused his family?

Another week, another case of Prince Harry speaking publicly about his rift with the royal family.

Harry raised eyebrows this week with the release of an on-camera interview with GQ, which was recorded in late September - but it was in fact released the same day senior royals welcomed the Sultan of Oman to a state visit at Windsor Castle.

In it, Harry suggested that "some people don’t want" him to repair his fractured relationship with his father and brother. Asked if he was grieving the complicated relationship with his brother and father, Harry said: "Yes, of course." He then described complicated family dynamics as a "massively relatable issue" for so many people. 

"Some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out," he said. "Of course I do. With everything else that's going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile - that's the key point."

'There's no acknowledgement of the things he's done'

There was much to unpick from the interview - not least Harry's refusal to take ownership for his sizable contribution to the fallout, according to HELLO!'s royal correspondent Emily Nash.

Speaking on the latest episode of A Right Royal Podcast, Emily noted: "He talks about having grief for the breakdown in that relationship, and then he talks about wanting to draw a line under the last six years. Now, my immediate thought was, 'Well, you might want to, but how do you know the rest of the family are ready to?'

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"And the one thing that stood out to me is that at no point has he acknowledged... there's no sort of acknowledgement of all the things that have been said and done - and I'm talking about the Oprah interview, the Netflix docuseries, Spare - that have hurt members of his family. 

"Now, he might not feel that he has to apologise, but if you're trying to make amends with someone, surely the first thing you do is acknowledge that you've made mistakes, too."

Elsewhere in the interview, Harry was asked if he thought he could repair his relationships with the King and William. 

"Of course," Harry said. "Scars stick around forever. But what your perception is, and what your mindset is to those things that have happened, certainly letting go of the past - that's something that I would encourage everybody to do."

Prince Harry says his attitude has changed since Megxit

His interviewer,  Zach Baron, later asked whether the reasons that prompted Harry and Meghan's departure six years ago had changed. 

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He replied: "I think that, certainly, our attitude has changed. What happened back then was then. What's happened over the last six years has been a continuation of that. Some battles that had been fought - and necessarily so - but hopefully we can all draw a line under that."

He added: "I am optimistic, I'm hopeful. I'm not naive, I have been naive in the past. But I think it's important to remain optimistic. A large part of this is about respect as well. I can respect them if they respect me and our position - our position is really quite clear now. And hopefully we can get on with life."

Harry's spokesperson forced to clarify comments

One standout comment made by the Duke seemed aimed at his brother, Prince William. The future king is said to have no desire to reconcile with his sibling - and most people believed that  Harry's pointed remark - "some people don't want it to work out" - was aimed at him.

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A spokesperson was then forced to clarify Harry's claim, stating that it was not intended as a swipe at Prince William or directed at any of the royal family in any way, but was instead made in a general context.

And that in itself was problematic, as Emily noted: "There were plenty of other elements of the interview which raised questions, even to the extent that Harry's spokesman had to come out - and I just want to read the quote. He did say that 'some people don't want it to work out.' 

"His spokesman was forced to come out immediately and say that that wasn't aimed at his brother. But obviously it was open to interpretation, because that's what people thought. 

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"And so, just from that point of view, at what point do you sit in on that interview or you listen to that interview and think, 'Hmm, do you know what? That might be interpreted in a certain way. Maybe we take that out. Maybe we don't let that bit run. Maybe we give people a bit of a warning.' 

"As far as the other side are concerned, they're saying nothing. They're saying absolutely nothing, and they're letting the sort of duty do the talking, if you like. But there's no world in which I can see this reconciliation taking flight while he's still talking about it all so publicly."