Next week, Prince Harry will travel to London to attend an annual event for the WellChild charitable foundation.
The visit will be a short one — Harry is due in Dusseldorf the following day for the start of the Invictus Games — and the duke will not be joined by his wife, Meghan Markle.
Still, it seems that at least one family member who feels put out by Harry and Meghan’s actions of the past year is experiencing some major anxiety about coming face-to-face with the black sheep of the Windsor clan.
Insiders say Kate Middleton — who was once quite close with Harry — is dreading his return.
It seems that Kate was deeply wounded by harsh remarks Harry made in his memoir, and she’s resolved never to forgive him.
A source close to the family calls it “a horrible situation all around” and says that William might have already patched things up with Harry were it not for Kate’s continued furor.
“Kate has drawn a hard line in the sand — she’s not changing her mind about them,” the insider tells OK! magazine.
“William wants to extend an olive branch to Harry,” the source continues.
“It’s a shocking about-face, but he feels it’s long overdue.”
But it seems that Kate’s stubbornness is not just a matter of wounded ego.
According to the insider, Kate believes that Harry and Meghan have already done irreparable harm to the reputation of the royal family, and that they’ll only cause more trouble if they’re admitted back into the inner circle.
Kate is said to be adamant in her view that “Harry, and especially Meghan, have done enough damage to the royal family,” and she believes that they “will do even more damage if they’re let back in.”
“When William told Kate he wants to bury the hatchet with Harry, she was incensed, and she and William got into a big fight,” says the insider.
“She’ll never forgive Meghan for what she did,” they added.
A separate source tells The Daily Beast that William and Kate are “irritated” by Harry’s decision to speak at the WellChild Awards, and they believe he’s motivated primarily by his desire to promote his new Netflix doc about the Invictus Games.
“Harry is going to want people to watch the show,” says the insider.
“Of course that makes them nervous because William has seen how ruthless Harry has been about betraying his family to promote his projects so far,” the source continues.
“They just won’t want the dignity of the day to be overshadowed by another outburst.”
A third source, a former palace staffer, claims that Kate and William have nothing to worry about, as Harry wants nothing more than to honor an organization that means a great deal to him.
And since the event is being held on the eve of the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s passing, he’s almost certain to be respectful in his remarks.
“Harry has always done WellChild and he only missed it last year because the queen died on that day, so it would be a bit odd if he didn’t pay tribute to her or mention what happened last year,” says the staffer.
“It’s an accident of timing, admittedly one which has worked out very nicely for Harry given he has a new show to promote.
“The issue really is what he says. I’m sure he will just say a few nice words about her, and it will be fine. But if he makes even the slightest veiled criticism of his father or brother or the institution, it will really annoy Charles and William,” the source continues.
“Charles is pushing for unity, unity, unity—so the last thing he needs is Harry being divisive.”
It seems extremely unlikely that Harry would hijack a charity event just to promote his latest project and bash his family.
But we suppose there’s always a remote possibility.
And if there’s one thing the royals despise most — other than Meghan — it’s uncertainty.