Prince Harry still hopes he and his wife, Meghan Markle, could return to their duties in the British monarchy even for a "minor royal role," according to a royal expert.

Tom Quinn, a journalist and author, weighed in on how Prince Harry was feeling about the royals after he stepped back from his duties in 2020 amid King Charles' and Kate Middleton's cancer battles.

Quinn believes that the Duke of Sussex still wants to keep his ties to his family and return to serving the monarchy to boost his and Markle's ventures. The Duchess of Sussex just launched her new lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

"Harry is under pressure to keep some sort of relationship with his family going if only for the sake of the couples' new ventures. Harry still has vague hopes that he will be forgiven and will be offered a minor role somewhere. Even Edward VIII, after the abdication, was given a few minor roles. And Harry will be aware of that," the author of "Gilded Youth: A History of Growing Up in the Royal Family: From the Tudors to the Cambridges" told Mirror.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a service marking the centenary of WW1 armistice at Westminster Abbey on November 11, 2018 in London, England.
(Photo : Paul Grover- WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Quinn added that Prince William's brother would likely be lost just like Edward VIII when things between him and Wallis Simpson cooled down. Thus, Prince Harry has to keep his relationship with his family, but the Palace officials might not allow him to get what he wants.

"As Meghan and Harry become an older married couple and some of the fire goes out of their relationship, there's a real danger that Harry will feel lost -- just as Edward VIII felt lost when things had cooled with Mrs Simpson," Quinn noted.

"That's the point at which Harry will really make huge efforts to build bridges with his brother and be allowed to be the part-time Royal (with Meghan) that he wants to be. But if palace officials have their way, it will never happen."

Some hope that the royal family could reconcile with the Sussexes following Middleton's cancer diagnosis. Hilary Fordwich, a corporate speaker and client retention consultant who has been featured on ABC, CNN, Fox Business and NBC, encouraged Prince Harry to reach out to his family, saying, "Now is the time to make amends."


(L-R) Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrive to attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate on December 25, 2018 in King's Lynn, England.
(Photo : Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

However, several unnamed sources close to the Prince and Princess of Wales said their "Harry problem" was the last thing on their minds amid the monarch and future queen's health battles. Prince William and Middleton reportedly have no plans to reconcile.

According to reports, Prince Harry and Markle only learned about Middleton's cancer from TV. Quinn, however, said they were told shortly before Middleton made the announcement.

"Harry and Meghan were told about Kate's cancer diagnosis, but only a very short time before the television announcement," Quinn said. "Telling them was a huge problem for the palace because if they'd left Meghan and Harry in the dark until Kate's TV broadcast, there was a real risk the couple would have complained that once again the royal family was treating them badly."


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Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Royal family