Katie Nicholl at Vanity Fair had a somewhat interesting piece about all of the royal shenanigans a few days ago. She was piggybacking on the fantastical claim that Prince Harry had “offered” to return to the UK temporarily to help out while King Charles is being treated for cancer. It was a make-believe story thrown out there just so Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace could make a big show of snubbing Harry yet again – they’ve run out of punishments so now they create fantasies in which he’s begging to come back just so they can scream “NO!” Anyway, Nicholl had some new quotes involving a “contingency plan.”
Sources close to the king insist that while Charles wants to show the world it is “business as usual,” reports about his son Prince Harry returning to official duties are incorrect. “The idea of Harry coming back to the UK to carry out engagements on behalf of the King is highly, highly unlikely,” a well-placed source tells Vanity Fair. “There is a carefully mapped out contingency plan in place if the king is unable to carry out public-facing engagements over the coming months, and none of these involve Prince Harry.”
VF previously reported that Prince William is being lined up to stand in for King Charles if the monarch is unable to attend next month’s Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. Sources close to the Prince of Wales say that the idea Harry could return to the royal fold in a working capacity is “unthinkable.” “The brothers are barely speaking so the idea of William wanting Harry to come back and represent the firm is both laughable and unthinkable,” says a friend.
While Harry seems keen to paper over the cracks, palace aides have insisted that a cool distance remains between the Sussexes and the royal family. While Harry traveled from California to see his father in a last-minute dash following the king’s shocking cancer diagnosis, he was apparently told to wait until the king was at Sandringham. “The advice was for Harry to leave it a while and come to see his father in Sandringham while he was recuperating, but there was a big rush for Harry to come and see his father. It was all very last minute hence why the meeting was so short,” says a source.
So… Harry was told to wait a few days before visiting so that he could go to Sandringham for a longer visit with his father? What’s interesting about that is Camilla was telling everyone that Harry was banned from Sandringham. As for this quote –“The brothers are barely speaking so the idea of William wanting Harry to come back and represent the firm is both laughable and unthinkable”– literally no one cares, William. Stop screaming, crying and throwing up about Harry for two f–king seconds. Regarding the “contingency plan” though, here’s an interesting little story:
King Charles has reportedly begun work on his succession plan, sparking fears his cancer diagnosis may be ‘more dangerous than we have been led to believe.’ Earlier this month Charles revealed he had been diagnosed with cancer after being admitted to hospital for a separate issue regarding an enlarged prostate. The type of cancer has not been revealed to the public, but it was reportedly caught early and the King has been undergoing ‘regular treatments’ ever since.
Nevertheless, the issue has reportedly prompted the King to start formalising his succession plans earlier than intended and ensure that Prince William is at the heart of them, sparking rumours that his illness could be more serious than we have been led to believe.
Tom Quinn, a Royal expert and author, told the Mirror: ‘Charles is also aware that, as future king, William is at the heart of the succession planning that is taking place right now – officials had assumed Charles would remain healthy at least into his mid-eighties before succession planning would need to begin but in fact it has now begun and indicates perhaps that Charles’ cancer is more dangerous than we have been led to believe. Succession planning is highly secret and no one trusts Harry to be part of it for the simple reason that if he feels in any way slighted or not given what he feels he deserves he will run straight to the media.’
As I always say, these people have plans on top of plans and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the palace was already knee-deep in plans for Charles’s funeral, William’s accession and everything in between. The planning alone doesn’t mean that Charles’s condition is more serious than has been disclosed. That being said, it feels like there was a reason why Harry rushed to the UK as soon as Charles called, just as my radar is pinging about two different articles referencing contingency plans and succession plans.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.