Prince Harry’s peace plea prompts ‘eye-rolls’ from royals as William & King Charles host state visit

Published: 04:14 EDT, 21 October 2026 | Updated: 04:14 EDT, 21 October 2026

Prince Harry’s call for ‘reconciliation’ with his family in an interview that aired Tuesday during a state visit drew exasperated reactions from other royals.

His first sit-down since returning to Britain threatened to overshadow a big day for King Charles and the Prince of Wales as they welcomed the Sultan of Oman to Windsor.

While saying repairing rifts with his family was ‘the most important thing’ to him, the Duke of Sussex seemed to take a swipe at his estranged brother, saying ‘some people don’t want it to work out.’

Chat: Prince Harry speaks during a 42-minute interview with GQ magazine, which was released on Tuesday

Harry’s latest poorly timed intervention drew a chorus of eye-rolling in royal circles.

While Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have remained silent, senior figures have long grown weary of Harry’s calls for ‘peace’.

‘Does he really think everyone has collective amnesia after the last few years?’ one source said last week after he and his wife, Meghan, made their first public appearance following their surprise return to the UK.

The 42-minute interview with GQ magazine emerged as King Charles, Queen Camilla, William and Kate sat down with the Sultan at Windsor Castle for a private lunch following a ceremonial welcome to Britain.

But Harry stole the limelight with his message that ‘with everything else going on in the world, the most important thing is to reconcile’.

Elegant: The Prince and Princess of Wales were pictured just hours later ahead of the state banquet for the Sultan of Oman

Interview: Harry sat down with Senior Special Projects Editor Zach Baron for the chat

He told his interviewer ‘sibling disagreements’ and ‘broken relationships between kids and their parents’ were a ‘massively relatable’ topic that often came up when he spoke to people.

‘People look at us, and go “How are you going to work it out?”‘ he said, adding: ‘Some people don’t want it to work out. I want it to work out.’

Harry and William have not spoken in four years. After quitting as frontline royals in 2020, the Sussexes widened the gulf by accusing the Royal Family of racism in their devastating interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Harry’s 2023 memoir, Spare, took relations to a new low, accusing his ‘archnemesis’ brother ‘Willy’ of throwing him to the floor in a row over Meghan being ‘difficult’.

Yesterday, Harry, 42, said ‘scars stick around forever’ but urged ‘letting go of the past’, adding: ‘That’s something that I would encourage everybody to do. For me, there’s enough drama in the world and enough drama in people’s lives to continue with family issues.’

The Duke said he was grieving his ‘complicated relationships’ with the King and the Prince of Wales but wanted to reconcile.

Hours after the interview was released, a Sussex spokesman insisted Harry wasn’t referring to William when he said ‘some people’ don’t want to reconcile, as speculation mounted over who the apparent dig was aimed at.

The spokesman said: ‘It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family.

‘The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way.’

Harry’s plea for reconciliation came as the King and Queen, along with William and Catherine, the Prime Minister, and other dignitaries gathered in Windsor for a lavish state banquet on Tuesday night.

Official: The Sultan of Oman, King Charles and Queen Camilla at Tuesday night’s banquet

Portrait: The Prince and Princess of Wales at the event at Windsor Castle on Tuesday

The Duke of Sussex is on speaking terms with the King, and said in the interview regarding Charles’s battle with cancer: ‘He’s getting better.’

Harry said he still misses his mother, Princess Diana, every day but does not ‘sit there and go really deep into how I’m feeling’.

He said: ‘It’s just a quick, “Well, I miss you. I wonder what the world would be like if you were still here. I wonder what my family would be like if you were still here”.’

He revealed he sometimes asks her questions, ‘looking for some kind of response – and sometimes, I do get a response’.

Harry said: ‘There is a connection still with my mom that I do feel her energy at certain times.’

Reflecting on her death when he was 12, Harry said: ‘Back then, I didn’t know myself. The grief, the trauma, the loss, the fact that I was 12, I had no idea who I really was.’

The Duke insisted he ‘certainly doesn’t want any sympathy’, telling his interviewer: ‘Why? Because I’m a prince. I’ve got a support network around me, I’ve done different forms of therapy, and I put in the work.’

On Tuesday night, the Princess of Wales arrived at the state banquet wearing one of Princess Diana’s favorite tiaras, the Lover’s Knot.

It is one of the Royal Family’s most famous headpieces, created for Queen Mary in 1914.

The tiara passed to the late Queen Elizabeth, who reportedly loaned it to Diana as a wedding gift.

Kate also donned diamond earrings and a bracelet from the late Queen on Tuesday night. The princess chose a flowing yellow Elie Saab dress and a gold box clutch for the event in honor of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

She wore the King Charles III Royal Family Order and her Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Sash and Star.

Prince William was no slouch in the style stakes in white tie and the Windsor tailcoat, his Most Noble Order of the Garter Sash with the Lesser George and other medals and decorations.

Queen Camilla looked regal in royal blue and jewels, while the King wore the Sash of the Order of Al Said, an honor the Sultan had given him earlier in the day.

In his speech, Charles stressed the importance of Britain-Oman friendship at a time of ‘painful’ conflict in the Middle East.

And amid the continuing drama around Prince Harry, he told the Sultan of Oman of his pride that both ‘our sons’ – Prince William and the Crown Prince of Oman – had been joint patrons of the Jewel of Arabia expedition, a cultural and environmental trek through the region last year.

Harry’s interview, recorded in late September but released on Tuesday, focused on grief, a subject he recently addressed in an online MasterClass, for which some estimate he may have been paid up to $100,000. The royal family traditionally avoids discussing anything personal, and Harry continuing to do so will do little to improve relations.

Pastel: The Princess of Wales dazzles in a yellow gown for the special event on Tuesday night

The Duke said it was ‘nice to be back’ after he and Meghan returned to the UK in shock six years after fleeing to North America.

He said the move ‘wasn’t something that we planned for a long time,’ but it was an opportunity to ‘be outside of the US for the next few months’.

At the magazine’s New York office, in Manhattan, he said the couple’s children, Archie and Lilibet, were ‘loving’ their new school in Britain, adding: ‘It’s just giving them a whole different experience.

‘For kids at seven and five, to be able to have that comparison, and to have two completely different cultural experiences, is so important today.’

Prince Harry also said he wanted to ‘draw a line’ after his battles with the press.

In July, he and others lost a $67million court case after a judge threw out allegations they had made against Associated Newspapers, the Daily Mail’s publisher.

Harry now said he was ‘doing the best that I can, doing everything I can, to try to uplift and support journalism.’

Line up: The Princess Royal and the Duke of Gloucester ahead of the state banquet

Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales dazzled at King Charles’s state banquet for the Sultan of Oman on Tuesday night.

William and Catherine, Queen Camilla, the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester accompanied the monarch as they hosted Sultan Haitham bin Tarik Al Said and his retinue in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle.

Kate wore an ethereal pale yellow Ellie Saab gown with a cape detail and train, paired with her favorite Lover’s Knot tiara, diamond earrings, and a bracelet belonging to the late Queen Elizabeth.

William wore a white tie with a Windsor tailcoat, his Most Noble Order of the Garter Sash with the Lesser George, and other medals and decorations.

Camilla looked regal in a purple chiffon dress by Fiona Clare, while Charles wore the Sash of the Order of Al Said, an honor the Sultan of Oman had given him earlier in the day.

One hundred and sixty guests dined on Scottish langoustine and Cornish crab, pot-roasted Windsor pheasant and stuffed cabbage, individual baked Alaskas, and Balmoral Plum and Windsor Estate honey ice cream.

Conversation: The Sultan and King Charles share a laugh at the banquet

Happy: Kate smiles during the banquet while sitting at the table for dinner

Royals: King Charles poses before the state banquet for the Sultan of Oman

Designer: Kate wore a pale yellow Ellie Saab gown with a cape detail and train

Procession: The Princess of Wales and His Excellency Sayyid Khalid Hilal Al Busaidy walk in procession to the state banquet

Ornate: Pomegranates from Windsor Castle gardens form decorations for the banquet

Charles spoke of the importance of British-Omani friendship at a time of ‘painful’ conflict in the Middle East.

And amid the continuing drama around Harry, he told the Sultan of Oman of his pride that both ‘our sons’ – William and the Crown Prince of Oman – had become joint patrons of the Jewel of Arabia expedition, a cultural and environmental trek through the region last year.

‘Your Majesty, there can be few happier symbols of success than a living relationship being passed from one generation to the next,’ he said.

His speech came at the end of a damp but successful day, as the Sultan arrived at Windsor Castle to begin a three-day State Visit.

Oman is one of Britain’s oldest and most trusted allies in Arabia and the British government requested the state visit to emphasize trade, military and cultural links at a perilous time in the region.

Toasting his guests at the banquet, Charles said it was a ‘treasured moment to receive dear and old friends’.

‘Oman is one of Britain’s oldest allies and, after all these years, I pray, one of your closest friends,’ he said.

He said he had been ‘immensely fortunate and blessed’ to have come to know Oman well over many visits. He praised both the late Sultan’s ‘inspired leadership’ and the present leader’s ‘energetic and far-sighted leadership’.

Turning to the current conflict, he said: ‘I would especially like to recognize, at a time when conflict has returned so painfully to the region, Oman’s enduring commitment as a trusted interlocutor to all parties.’

And referring to the Strait of Hormuz, he said: ‘Oman’s noble efforts in trying to keep open one of the world’s most important shipping routes have been of great service to the whole international community, and particularly to the most vulnerable of those affected.

‘Oman’s role across the Gulf and her “constructive neutrality”, as you put it, matters far beyond Hormuz, and is worthy of our utmost respect.

‘The unique and special relationship we share helps to make the world and our peoples safe.’

The King also highlighted the environmental challenges facing both countries and the ‘promise and peril’ of AI.

He concluded: ‘Your Majesty, I hope this State Visit shows the importance the United Kingdom attaches to Oman, its monarchy and institutions, and to our friendship with you personally. ‘

Britain’s King Charles delivers a speech at the State Banquet at Windsor Castle

Tuesday night’s 165ft table, which runs the whole length of the room, was laid with 480 knives, 480 forks, 160 spoons and the Grand Service, commissioned by George IV, which runs to more than 4,000 silver-gilt pieces.

In a touching tribute, the center 12-light St George and the dragon candelabra, commissioned by William IV in 1833, was decorated with pomegranates grown on a tree planted by the late Duke of Edinburgh around 50 years ago on the East Terrace.

The unseasonably warm summer has caused it to fruit, so staff decided to use them as decorations, though they are inedible.

For the first time, the salt on the table bore the imprint of the King’s royal cipher.

Detail: The King Charles III cypher imprinted into salt on the banquet table

Lavish: One hundred and sixty guests dined on Scottish langoustine and Cornish crab

Details@ Cutlery on the grand table for the event was the castle’s finest