The icy relationship between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and the rest of the British Royal Family may be thawing. Still residing across the pond in California with children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reportedly reached out to Kate Middleton and King Charles III to offer their support amid their recent health woes.
Although the royal couple has not released a public statement following last week’s news that the Princess of Wales was hospitalized after undergoing a “planned abdominal surgery” and His Majesty was preparing for a prostate operation, a source told the Mirror on Saturday, “The King and the Princess of Wales have received support from Prince Harry and Meghan regarding their health. The Duke and Duchess contacted both parties in different ways to express their concern and best wishes.”
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The details of those correspondences are unclear. It is also unclear when exactly the Sussexes learned of the health crisis impacting the two working royals. The Mirror reported that Buckingham Palace attempted to privately inform all senior members of the Royal Family, including Harry and Meghan, before the news went public. However, due to the King being forced to cancel public engagements, courtiers had to put out a public statement “relatively quickly,” and the statement was released before 7:30 a.m. California time. Sources told The Telegraph that Harry, who along with his wife stepped back as working royals in 2020, learned about his father’s prostate diagnosis and upcoming surgery through the media. The so-called olive branch that was their message of support, meanwhile, is being applauded.
“It’s good they’ve recognised his sister-in-law has gone in for what is obviously serious surgery and his father is going in to have surgery at 75. It’s the right thing to do to acknowledge it. I’m pleased for Catherine and the King,” Dickie Arbiter, a former press secretary to the Queen, said. “The Queen would always have wanted the relationship rebuilt but she wasn’t going to see it in her lifetime. There were too many other things going on.”
According to Kensington Palace, Middleton underwent “planned abdominal surgery” on Tuesday and will remain at The London Clinic for up to two weeks as she recovers. She is not expected to “return to public duties until after Easter.” The Mirror reported that William was seen visiting his wife in her private ward on Thursday. The King, meanwhile, is set to undergo a “corrective procedure” for an enlarged prostate this week. The Palace said his condition is “benign” and His Majesty’s “public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation.”
