Prince Harry: I love my family and my father’s cancer diagnosis could bring us together

King Charles’s cancer diagnosis could help to heal rifts and reunify the royal family, Prince Harry has said as he revealed that he was “grateful” to spend time with his father last week.

In an interview set to air in the US on Friday, the Duke of Sussex will open up about his father’s diagnosis and life in California with his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and their children.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America show when asked if the King’s illness could help heal the family.

Buckingham Palace sent shockwaves through the UK and the world when it announced earlier this month that the monarch had an unspecified form of cancer.

Medics found the disease while the King underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate, which officials described as “benign” and unconnected to the cancer.

The dire news prompted Harry to dash home from the States to see his father, who has stepped back from public-facing duties while he receives treatment.

The visit fuelled speculation that Harry could begin to repair relations with his father and brother William, the Prince of Wales, which have become strained after Harry and Meghan stepped back from their duties as “working royals”.

But the prince was said to have only spent around 30 minutes with Charles at the King’s Clarence House residence and did not see his brother William at all.

open image in gallery

But Harry, who said he planned to visit the UK more after his father’s diagnosis and that he “loved” his family, appeared to leave open the door for reconciliation.

“I think any illness, any sickness, brings families together,” he said. “I see it time and time again, and that makes me very happy.”

The duke said he and Meghan’s children were doing “great” and growing up “very fast”.

He also said that getting American citizenship was something that had crossed his mind but was not a high priority “for me right now”.

The Sussexes are in Canada staging several events with Invictus competitors to mark a year to go until Harry’s Invictus Games, for wounded and sick veterans and military, is staged in the country.

open image in gallery

They are being followed by a film crew led by Will Reeve, the son of the late Superman star Christopher Reeve, who interviewed Harry in the winter sports town of Whistler, which is hosting the 2025 Invictus Games alongside Vancouver.

The breakdown in the bond between the royal brothers can be traced back to the early period of Harry’s relationship with wife Meghan when his then-fiancee had a falling out with the Princess of Wales in the run-up to their wedding.

The Sussexes, since stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to California, have aired allegations and grievances against the monarchy and members of the royal family that have also soured relations.

Meghan and Harry are bringing up their two children, Prince Archie, aged four, and two-year-old Princess Lilibet in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California.