To the casual onlooker, it looks like any other gushy Father’s Day Instagram post. A loving dad kneeling on the floor in khaki shorts as he hugs both his children close to him. But look a little closely, and the subliminal message is loud and clear.
In the photo, a smily Prince Harry, is kneeling on the floor in khaki shorts as he hugs both his children, so we only see the backs of them in a half-hearted attempt to give them privacy, including Princess Lilibet, five, who is holding a soft toy giraffe and is wearing white shades on her head.
In the Instagram caption, the Duchess wrote: “They’re so lucky to have you. We all are. Happy Father’s Day to our one and only.” But it is the words on Archie’s football top that tell us everything we need to know. Harry is coming home.
This weekend we learnt that Harry is set to bring his family to the UK for the first time in four years next month – and this photo shows that the Sussex family mean business and intend to reclaim Harry’s birthplace (and Archie and Lilibet’s – who are sixth and seventh to the throne respectively).
It’s in stark contrast to the Father’s Day photo posted by the Princess of Wales showing William with his daughter Charlotte, 11, to mark his 44th birthday and Father’s Day – signed off “Happy Birthday and Father’s Day to the best Papa in the World! We love you very much. C, G, C & L”. Here the message is of duty as William is dressed in his Welsh Guards in the garden of Kensington Palace following the Trooping the Colour last weekend.
And it’s this issue of duty and, ultimately loyalty, that will likely be gnawing away at Prince William – who according to reports at the weekend, is struggling with his father, King Charles’s olive branch to the Sussex’s and thinks his father is making a “misjudgment” by trying rebuild a relationship with Harry and offer him a royal residence for this UK trip. This fallout between William and Charles is denied by Buckingham Palace.
But it’s certain that it’s a potentially explosive situation. For King Charles, it’s a long overdue reunion with his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet – and he’s already missed so many of their milestones since the Sussex family relocated to their Montecito home in California after Megxit in 2020.
Archie and Lilibet reportedly last saw their grandfather in person during Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022 – and that is far too long for any grandfather, never mind one who is being treated for cancer.
But news that the Sussexes are heading across the pond to Harry’s home turf must be sending shockwaves through William’s nervous system, who can’t forgive his brother Harry for bombshell claims about the monarchy in his memoir Spare and in the explosive Oprah Winfrey interview.
The fact that Harry is coming home must be going around William’s mind on a painful loop – and I know how he might be feeling. I dread any family get-togethers after being estranged from my half-siblings since my dad died in 2024.
And I’m really dreading bumping into them in Cornwall this summer, where I want to go for my late dad’s would-be birthday in August – a place he loved and where we spent all our childhood summers. The trouble is, I have a feeling they will want to do the same thing. Because that is the thing about families. You may have different narratives and stories, but you share the same history, and that is hard to abandon.
There would be nothing more toxic and stressful than colliding with my half-siblings as we clamber down the wild cliffs to recreate our childhoods and go surfing on the beach.
Not only would it bring up precious memories if I saw them doing exactly the same thing and might temporarily throw me off guard and into a false sense of security, but it would be incredibly awkward.
I have no idea what their reactions would be – and that is not a good situation for my children Lola, 10 and Liberty, eight. They have mourned the loss of their relationship with their older cousins who they never see, and to see them while building a sandcastle could be fun, it would also bring up painful feelings. I would know in my heart that there is no future in our relationship, as none of the adults speaks to each other.
I don’t know how to deal with it as I don’t want to text my half-siblings whom I haven’t spoken to in years and ask, “Are you going to be in Cornwall in mid-August? Because I don’t want to see you.”
I live in fear of any upcoming family weddings, christenings, or funerals, because I am not really very good at pretending nothing is wrong or giving or receiving the silent treatment. I am at a point of protecting my own sanity and moving on, and I don’t need family upsets and dysfunction to derail me, and this is likely what William must be feeling.
Deep down, these types of family wars – based largely on sibling rivalry, jealousy and resentment – bring up pain that I am desperate to lay to rest.
It’s also an issue getting together with family and friends who may also want a reunion to remember my dad but are torn with differing opinions and thoughts over who is right or wrong. Are you Team Harry or Team William? It’s no different in my family – and largely depends on who has bitten your ear off to get their side of the story across better – or who is loyal to whom – and why?
It’s a big mess – and one that I do not want ruining my summer plans, just as I try to have some special time with my children. So what to do?
When family relationships have become strained, fractured or estranged, there is rarely a perfect solution, says psychotherapist Kathleen Saxton, author of 2025’s My Parent the Peacock: Discovery and Recovery from Narcissistic Parenting and the upcoming book Sly and Mighty: How to Recognise, Resist and Rise Above Toxic Power.
“The history is often long, the wounds are often deep, and not everything can be repaired,” Saxton tells me.
“What matters is that you arrive prepared, remain connected to your values, and conduct yourself in a way that reflects who you want to be, regardless of how others choose to behave,” she says.
“The goal is not to create the perfect family gathering. It is to ensure that you and your children can attend with clarity, dignity and emotional resilience.”
In these situations, she advises that rather than focusing on changing other people, it can be more helpful to develop a strategy that allows you and your children to navigate the occasion with confidence and emotional stability.
As a psychotherapist, she often suggests the acronym “ABLE”, she tells me: Acceptance (acknowledging reality as it is, rather than as we wish it to be), Boundaries (be clear about what is and is not acceptable for you and your children), Limit (reduce emotional risk by limiting exposure) and Escape (always have an exit strategy).
“Most importantly, expect that difficult feelings may surface. Sadness, grief, guilt, shame or disappointment are common when families gather after periods of conflict or estrangement,” says Saxton.
“These emotions do not necessarily mean you have done anything wrong. They are often a natural response to the gap between the family we have and the family we hoped for.”
That’s why it’s never as simple as “coming home”. The Sussexes may well be wanting to take back power – and have every right to come back to England, Harry’s true home – but let’s not pretend this isn’t an emotional minefield. I may not be in the midst of a public royal war, but anyone in this situation needs some advice on crisis management and a therapist on tap to navigate the pain and find a way out to the other side.
Harry’s homecoming comes with notes – and I’m paying close attention.
