William faces a 'tricky choice' as Harry lands in the UK to visit Charles

"The question mark lies over William's head."

rince William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry has returned to the UK following the announcement that his father, King Charles, has been diagnosed with cancer. The monarch underwent a procedure last month to treat a benign enlarged prostate, and this week the Palace confirmed that 'a separate issue of concern was noted', and he has now started 'regular treatments'. 

The Duke of Sussex arrived in London this afternoon, and Prince William is said to be taking on some of the King's official duties while he steps away from in-person engagements. While at another time in their lives, the two brothers might have leaned heavily on each other for moral support, these days the situation is complicated by the fact that they have reportedly not spoken to each other in months.

Harry and Charles had already begun to pave the way to reconciliation before the King's diagnosis, but as for the Duke of Sussex and his older brother, things are much murkier according to royal experts.

"Whether there will be reconciliation between the brothers is more difficult," royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK!.

"Frankly, I just hope that the royals — who've been behaving much more like a normal family recently with their openness about medical conditions and transparency about William wanting to prioritise his family — will be thinking life is too short... let's put it behind us once and for all and move on."

But she did caution that royal fans had hopes for a brotherly reconciliation after the death of their grandmother the Queen, and this only ended up driving a further wedge between them.

Harry arrived from California, US within hours of the news being announced publicly, which could indicate a great sign of his willingness to build bridges, according to Bond.

"Harry's very rapid arrival in the UK and his decision to pack his bags and come over instantly shows that the willingness is there on his side," she said.

"With both Charles and William, the question mark lies over William's head and whether he'll feel that Harry has forfeited all right to be trusted. It'll rely on whether he can forgive him and move on, that's going to be trickier."

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire.
As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles.
Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York.
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.