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When the Princess of Wales announced her cancer diagnosis to the world via a video message on March 22, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released a statement, saying—particularly in light of the rampant conspiracy theories that surrounded Kate at the time—that “We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace.”
As Kate continues to receive treatment for cancer—but has returned to the public eye, which happened on June 15 at the annual Trooping the Colour parade and flypast—Harry and Meghan are “desperately” trying to connect with Kate, OK reports, and “hope to trigger a truce,” the outlet writes.
The relationship between the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex remains fractured after years of tension.
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“Both Harry and Meghan have been following Kate’s recovery with huge interest, but, sadly, it’s had to be more from afar because their lines of communication with the Palace and the Waleses, in particular, are very limited, to say the least,” a source said. “They have had enough information to know that people are excited about the idea of a comeback for Kate, and they’re both relieved and happy to hear that she’s on the mend and may soon be well enough to return to her duties.”
They added that “They’ve jointly reached out to send well-wishes, but they’re still not really in a place with Kate to warrant much of a response,” but, that said, it “hasn’t stopped them from trying to connect.”
It likely, at this point, doesn’t need to be said that the Sussexes and the rest of the royal family have had strained relationships within the past few years, but health scares—both for the royal family and any family—are a great unifier, and often put life into perspective.
Harry has called Kate the sister he never had in the past; the two used to be extremely close.
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As Kate comes back into the public eye after being away from it nearly for the entirety of 2024, the source said that it is Harry and Meghan’s hope that her recovery could “possibly trigger a truce with her and [Prince] William, and with the King, too,” they said. Though she and Kate haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, when it comes to Meghan, “her heart does go out to Kate—she can only imagine how hard this situation must be for her,” they said. “Meghan has made it clear she’d love nothing more than to move past all the nonsense and find a way towards healing for everyone’s sake. She’s ready to let the anger and bitterness go.”
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun that a public message of support could be a way for the Sussexes to offer an olive branch, and, as for the possibility of a reconciliation between the Sussexes and the royal family, he said “You never know what may happen. I think it’s abundantly clear that any rift is undesirable, and when individuals are ill who are involved in it, it makes it even more undesirable.” In addition to Kate battling cancer, so too is King Charles, Harry’s father.
The health scares of 2024 have, no doubt, put life into perspective for every member of the royal family, including both couples.
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A source told The Sun, in response to Fitzwilliams’ suggestion, that “I must express that this perspective appears somewhat one-sided. For the sake of balanced reporting, it is important to acknowledge that relationships are reciprocal. It would not be entirely fair to place the sole responsibility of mending the relationship on the Duke and Duchess [of Sussex].”
But mending fences has to start somewhere, and, as Fitzwilliams correctly pointed out, “Time can heal things. Serious illness can certainly change things.”
We hope, in this case, he’s right.
