Prince Harry 'firmly excluded' from royal family, claims expert

"Until he decides to come back to Britain and ask for forgiveness."

Prince Harry excluded from royal family
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III has taken the Crown and has a lot of important decisions to make. Since officially being named as the monarch, he has been involved in decisions around the bank holiday for his coronation, as well as who shall be made Counsellors of State in his absence - particularly, who should be on the list and who should be firmly off of it.

On his first birthday as King, he finally made the decision. But it means Prince Harry has been "firmly excluded" by his father, according to one expert. 

Asking the House of Lords to expand to appoint Princess Anne and Prince Edward as Counsellors means that Harry has been "firmly excluded" by his father, one expert claims. For the Duke of Sussex, it means it is highly unlikely that he will ever be called upon when King Charles is unavailable, and nor will the Duke of York, Prince Andrew. 

Royal biographer Tom Bower told the MailOnline that there has been "no reconciliation" between Charles and Harry since the Queen's funeral in September.

While it certainly was a tough time for everyone involved, he explains: "Clearly there was no reconciliation during the Queen's funeral and Charles fears the worst from the Netflix series and Harry's memoir.

"Harry is firmly excluded – until he decides to come back to Britain and ask for forgiveness."

Harry currently lives in the US, settling in LA with his wife, Meghan and their two children. He is also set to release his memoir, Spare, in January 2023. 

But apparently, the "slight" towards Harry and Andrew is "necessary". According to Royal biographer Angela Levin, Harry will be "furious" at the decision, but with Princess Anne and Prince Edward in the UK it makes much more sense for them to be in the role. 

"But he lives in California, he's stopped being a working royal, so why should he [be a Counsellor of State]?" says Levin. 

Continuing, she explains it "isn't about Harry" but more about the public. She says the public "would be absolutely furious" if Prince Andrew was asked to stand in, so it's a sensible decision on the King's part. 

She added: "Reading between the lines it allows him the ensure that the right people are doing the right job.

"Trips abroad are reportedly planned for both the King and Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales, so this absolutely had to happen."

Dionne Brighton

Dionne Brighton is a writer at Marie Claire UK, specialising in all things shopping, beauty and fashion. Born and raised in North London, she studied Literature at the University of East Anglia before taking the leap into journalism. These days, you can find her testing out the latest TikTok beauty trends or finding out what the next full Moon means.