The King’s caution in dealing with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now they are back in Britain may be justified, judging by polling and the attitude of former royal advisers. My piece for @theipaper today.

Former palace officials hold such a wide range of views on what the King should do about the Sussexes – it is little wonder he cannot make up his mind.

It would be the most hotly anticipated reunion of warring brothers since Liam and Noel – and some in royal circles are hopeful it could still happen.

Reports this week suggest Mike Tindall is the latest surprise figure to attempt to broker reconciliation between Prince William and Prince Harry – by inviting them to “knock heads over a beer”.

Harry and Meghan‘s transatlantic relocation has so far not been successful in healing the rift at the heart of the royal family, despite the warm words on Instagram and magazine interviews.

The Sussexes have not broken cover this week, a deliberate decision made so as to avoid taking attention away from the King’s royal tour of the Caribbean – even in the face of the ongoing fallout from the disturbing allegations made against Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle.

This small yet significant gesture of making sure they do not take column inches away from Charles will have been appreciated in the Palace corridors.

But despite Harry’s public words on his hope for a royal reunion, a question hangs over the Palace when it comes to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex: to trust or not to trust.

And the King’s caution in dealing with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now they are back in Britain may be justified, judging by the attitude of former royal advisers.

When The i Paper canvassed former palace officials on what to do about Harry and Meghan, those who dared to venture an opinion came up with a wide range of views, varying from suggesting the Sussexes cannot be trusted, to allowing them back into the heart of the family will happen eventually.

Faced with such a wide range of advice, it may perhaps be understandable why Charles III, other senior family members, and the Royal Household have proved reluctant to go beyond insisting that the Sussexes are to be treated as private citizens who will not be allowed to represent the monarchy officially.

King keen to reconcile privately and spend time with grandchildren
The King, who has been speaking regularly to Harry but has not seen him in person since his younger son returned to Britain at the end of August with his family, is understood to be keen to reconcile privately and develop a closer relationship with his grandchildren, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5.

But there remains deep suspicion at the palace over Harry and Meghan’s motives and the risk that their return to Britain and the prospect of family reconciliation may one day end up as new material to be used commercially by a couple who have used their royal connection to help promote their brand.

If Charles was looking for clear evidence that the public was more supportive of Harry and Meghan after their return to the UK and the subsequent revelation last week that the Duchess’s father was suspected of child sex and pornography offences, it was not to be found in a YouGov poll published on Thursday.

It concluded that the Sussexes have become even more unpopular since returning to live in Britain at the end of August. The poll, part of a regular series tracking opinions on the monarchy, was conducted on 22 and 23 October, the latter the day that it was revealed that Meghan’s father had been reported to police in the Philippines.

“The Sussexes are still viewed in a negative light, with opinion even less favourable now than it was prior to their decision to return to the UK,” Dylan Difford of YouGov said. “Just 29 per cent of Britons have a positive opinion of Prince Harry, down four points since July, while roughly twice as many – a full 60 per cent – view the Duke unfavourably.

“Only 20 per cent of Britons have a positive opinion of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, while 68 per cent see her critically, up three points since the summer and leaving the American princess with a net favourability rating in October of -48, the lowest recorded by our tracker to date.”

Public want to see family settle scores – but it may take time
In spite of the Sussexes’ unpopularity, some courtiers do believe that a significant proportion of the population wants to see the family settle their differences, especially in the light of Harry and Meghan’s surprise decision to return to Britain.

“There’s not much the King or the Prince of Wales can do about that, “ one source said, dismissing the idea that Charles or William might strip them of their titles to make their status clear. “It would be easier for a brother to do it than a parent, as we saw with Andrew, but I don’t think that will happen.”

Others suspect that the family and the public will warm eventually to Harry and Meghan, even if William refuses to reconcile. One source said the British public had liked Meghan originally but were put off by stories of her behaving like a diva. “So when she seemed to have ditched everyone, including her own father, I think a lot of people put that down to the Hollywood starlet thing,” the source said.

“Some of those people now have to eat a bit of humble pie because clearly there was something huge in the background that she didn’t want to, and couldn’t reveal.

“I’m not saying the public will suddenly fall full square behind her, because a lot of those other allegations will still stick, but many people will give her a bit more space, a bit of sympathy. We’re quite a forgiving nation.”

The same source added: “It may take a few years but I can see a return. William will have something to say about that but it’s not really down to him. It’s down to all of us.”

Indeed the one thing everyone agrees on is that if there is any change in the Royal Family’s approach to Harry and Meghan, it will not happen quickly.

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