Prince Harry will be back in the UK today, if he’s not already there by now. He flew out of LAX yesterday and took an overnight flight. Harry’s wife and children did not travel with him, which of course is being dissected and agonized over in the British media already. A reminder, for those who choose not to remember – King Charles made it perfectly clear that the Duchess of Sussex and her children are not welcome in the UK. He evicted them from their home, he banned Meghan from Balmoral and he told Harry to give four weeks’ notice when traveling to the UK. Spare me the “Meghan should have come too.” Meghan is protecting her peace and she truly doesn’t owe them anything. Well, the Daily Mail’s Maureen Callahan wrote an infuriating column as soon as the palace announced King Charles’s cancer diagnosis and we learned that Harry would travel to the UK. Some of the lowest of all lowlights:

There needs to be a royal reconciliation: If ever there was a chance for royal reconciliation, now is the time. For all of Prince Harry’s publicly expressed doubts that there is no need for him in the royal family, that he is but a ‘spare’ — the deeply concerning news about King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis proves nothing is further from the truth. Prince Harry is essential to his family, now as never before. King Charles has said that the door is always open to his youngest son. Now is the perfect time for him to take this opportunity.

The Sussexes’ absence: It’s a dark hour for the monarchy – and doubtless a darker one for Harry. How difficult it must have been for him to hear this sad news while so far away. How keenly his absence, and that of little Archie and Lilibet, must be felt back home. Charles has only met Lilibet once, during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations — the only time she met her namesake, too. ‘It was wonderful to have [the grandchildren] back in Britain’, a royal source said at the time, adding that Charles and Camilla ‘were absolutely thrilled to see them’.

They’re desperate for Meghan, Archie & Lilibet to come to the UK: The Palace has confirmed that Charles told each of his sons about his diagnosis personally. Harry announced that he is flying home to London immediately. Will his children soon join him, as the King and Queen would surely hope? One senses that even Meghan might be cautiously welcomed. Charles did, after all, walk her down the aisle.

A pep talk for William: William, as we know, is less forgiving than his father. But with Kate recuperating, with three small children who need his constant presence, with a sick father and the weight of the Crown suddenly heavier than ever, the absence of his only sibling must be freshly painful. Could this window, long shut to Harry, be slightly ajar? What an opportunity this might be. What a comforting presence Harry and his children could provide to the King as he undergoes treatment. What a gift he and William could give their ailing father if they could find their way to some rapprochement. Their relationship might never be the same again, of course, but that could be a good thing — or at least, a more honest one. A reconciliation doesn’t mean they have to go deep. If they can find a way to come back together, it would be greater than any title or castle or inheritance — especially for their children, who have no relationship as cousins. And specifically for Harry’s children, who have little relationship to their most incredible and historic lineage. A brotherly reconciliation would ensure the future of the monarchy itself.

[From The Daily Mail]

The disgust and revulsion I felt with “One senses that even Meghan might be cautiously welcomed.” Meghan has done absolutely nothing wrong to those people and their hatred for her is still, to this day, appalling and shocking. It’s also so grotesque that even as the monarchy suffers blow after blow, the royal establishment clings to so many of their most vile beliefs and talking points, like “of course the children would be welcomed, but leave your Black wife at home,” and “we only want Harry alone, but Meghan should be desperate to come back here!”

“A brotherly reconciliation would ensure the future of the monarchy itself.” Yeah, as I’ve said before, if Harry was so fundamental to the future of the monarchy, then he should have been treated that way this entire time. It must piss off William to no end that every “possible reconciliation” story is an admission that William is incapable of doing this by himself.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.