WILLS 'WON'T ALLOW HARRY BACK IN FAMILY'

Fresh hopes of reconciliation crushed by defiant brother

- Marco Giannangeli

PRINCE WILLIAM has quashed any prospect of a royal reconciliation with his brother Harry, sources said last night.

The Duke of Sussex is understood to have had several "warm exchanges" with his father following his cancer diagnosis, and has told friends he would step into a royal role while King Charles is unwell. Such a reset would inevitably mean Harry and William putting differences aside. But the idea was firmly dismissed by those close to the heir to the throne.

A royal source said: "There's no way that the Prince of Wales will wear it.

"Harry may well want to step back into a royal role but as far as his brother is concerned nothing has changed.

"Prince William has enough on his plate at the moment. His father is being treated for cancer and his wife is recovering from abdominal surgery. He simply doesn't have the bandwidth for this."

Reports of Harry seeking a partial return to royal duties emerged when he appeared to offer a very public olive branch to his family in an interview on US TV to promote next year's Invictus Games in Canada.

Interviewer Will Reeve asked the 39-yearold Duke how his whirlwind visit to see his father at Clarence House following his cancer diagnosis was "emotionally".

Harry replied: "I love my family - the fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that."

It was another question which revealed his underlying ambition, however.

Asked whether illness could have a reunifying effect on a family, the Duke replied: "Yeah, I'm sure. Through all these families [at the Games] I see it on a day-to-day basis, the strength of the family unit coming together."

In the interview on Friday to mark the countdown to the games, Harry also admitted he had considered seeking US citizenship but added it was not a high priority.