Prince Harry says he’s interested in reconciling with his family. During his interviews on 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, and more, he emphasized he’s not opposed to meeting with the royal family and talking things out.
The Duke of Sussex says he wants a family and not an institution, and he misses his father and brother. Dr. Michael Acton, a psychologist and author, spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet. He offered advice on how Prince Harry can reconcile with his family and put this situation behind him once and for all.
Prince Harry must ‘forgive and accept responsibility’
According to Acton, author of Learning How to Leave, reconciliation can’t begin until Harry genuinely forgives his family and takes responsibility for his role in the communication breakdown. He says Harry will also need to make peace with his family’s role in what he says were attacks against him and Meghan Markle.
“The family will never be the same again after he’s thrown them under the bus,” Acton tells Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “And in order to reconcile, he has to go in with an absolute genuine wish to forgive and accept responsibility for his part and forgive himself and accept what their responsibility was in their part.”
Acton says if Harry isn’t willing to do this, he should “stay away” from the family. He believes it would not be in the royal family’s best interest if Harry continued to interact with them while hiding an agenda.
“If Prince Harry wasn’t going to the family with this insight, he should stay away because it would be incredibly dangerous for him to enter into a relationship with the family again under false pretenses or any ulterior motive other than to be genuine, real, loving, and kind,” says Acton.
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Should the royal family apologize?
Harry says conversations must take place before reconciliation is a possibility. The duke reportedly wants an apology for what he says was a lack of support in addition to “leaking and planting of information” by the palace. Acton says Prince William and King Charles could apologize, but there’s no way to tell if an apology that has been requested is genuine. He believes Charles and William should focus on their royal duties. Acton also says Charles and William could think about ways to support Harry.
“When an apology is asked for, it always begs the question whether it’s genuine in its response,” Acton tells us. “I think the only thing that Prince William and King Charles can do is to consider their public space because they’re still [working] royals. They should also consider how it is they may support Harry, who is clearly in a troubled position.”
Harry’s book revelations weren’t a good idea, says Michael Acton
In Acton’s opinion, Harry’s book and tell-all interviews have widened the rift between the royal family members. He doesn’t believe handling the family’s problems in such a public way was the best choice.
“I think that writing a book is therapeutic but putting [family matters] in the public domain is dangerous and damaging,” Acton tells Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “And reconciliation could have happened in private, not by throwing your family under the bus, especially when this family is known to do so much good in the world.”
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