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Prince Harry’s a “tragedy in the making.” An author says the Duke of Sussex, 39, is destined to become a “lost figure.” The reason: Because there’s no coming back from the damage inflicted upon the royal family. The royal Harry’s bound to end up like, ahead. Plus, why a potential return to the U.K. as a “private citizen” would never work. 

A return to U.K. life and the royal family isn’t an option for Harry 

According to royal author Tom Quinn, there’s no going back for Harry. The damage has been done. “I’m sure Harry will stay in the [United] States,” he said (via Express). “At least as long as his marriage lasts, because he doesn’t really have the choice to come back.”

Harry and Meghan Markle live in Montecito, California, with their two children, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2. The couple left royal life in early 2020 before relocating to Southern California later that year. 

“Everyone feels that Harry is drifting further and further from the royal family,” Quinn continued. “I think he [Harry] genuinely believes that writing Spare and giving interviews in which he criticises [sic] his family doesn’t mean he has cut himself off from his life in the U.K. completely.” 

In Quinn’s opinion Harry’s done the opposite. “If he came back and there was an argument about the least thing, the worry would be that he would make the dispute public all over again.”

Even returning to the U.K. in a private capacity would likely be problematic. “He could come back as a private citizen, which is entirely possible. But even if he came back with Meghan — and she has said she will never return to the U.K. — he will be a lost figure who can’t do an ordinary job and won’t be offered work with the royal family.”

Harry’s set to follow in Edward VIII’s footsteps of becoming a royal family ‘embarrassment’

Quinn went on to compare Harry to his great-great uncle, Edward VIII. Brother to Queen Elizabeth II’s father, he abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson. The former king thought he’d “be offered an interesting and important job by the British government only to “be seen as an embarrassment.” 

“I think the same thing will happen to Harry,” the commentator said. “When he published Spare he really did cross a line. And the royal family doesn’t forgive easily. I suspect that he is a tragedy in the making — and, as I say, very much like his ancestor, Edward VIII.” 

In Harry’s memoir, which hit shelves in January 2023, he made numerous headline-making claims. More than a year later, he’s still said to be picking up the battered remains of his relationships with his father and brother. Furthermore, a potential sequel to Spare is reportedly still a concern behind palace walls. 

Harry reportedly sees a return to the U.K. for an upcoming Invictus Games event as a chance at reconciliation

A trip to England for the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games has the potential to turn things around for Harry and the royal family. Harry and Meghan reportedly view the trip as a “starting point” on the road to reconciliation. 

“Harry and Meghan are very keen to mend the relationship with his family,” an insider told Express. “But they know that now might not be the right time, especially in light of Kate’s cancer announcement.” 

The Princess of Wales, 42, is currently in the “early” stages of preventative chemotherapy after tests from a January 2024 abdominal surgery found cancer. 

“They [the Sussexes] are happy to wait until the time is right before working on mending fences and building bridges,” the source said.