Rumours of a systemic breakdown emerge as the royal family prepares for the death of King Charles III

Between Prince Harry’s efforts to reconcile with his father and a shift in power towards Prince William, the latest claims emerging from Buckingham Palace have left the royal family and its subjects in a suspended state of tension.

A few years ago, it might have been easy to believe that King Charles’s reign would last as long as his predecessors — perhaps a few decades on the throne, up to the ripe old age of 96 or 99 before the sunset of his rule. Now, it’s reported that only the most optimistic of people believe that, according to royalist correspondent Tom Sykes.

Since the royal family announced that King Charles was battling cancer earlier this year, succession plans began to fall into place and the so-called “change of reign” was kickstarted — and it’s a near unrelenting transition that effectively cements the finality of King Charles’ reign.

A transition of power

Despite the earth-shattering diagnosis, certain members of the royal family wasted no time in diplomatically playing the field, with Prince William counted among them.

He appeared to embark on the beginnings of a worldwide campaign to elevate his public profile, having appointed a new private secretary. Although this campaign was put on pause as Princess Catherine received her own diagnosis of cancer, her recent recovery marked the return of the prince to the public as he gears up in preparation for his visit to South Africa in November.

It is reported that executive power and control have also begun to flow his way, and it won’t be long before we might have to seriously entertain the idea of King William.

The ramifications of that change are widespread, with implications not any less than massive on the relationship between Prince Harry and the royal family.

The lost prince on a path to redemption

Three days after King Charles’ public announcement of his cancer diagnosis, which was deemed unwise by some of his advisors, Prince Harry sprang into action, reconnecting with the monarch. Though few might see this as a genuine effort on Harry’s part to gather the family and draw strength from it, Sykes thinks differently.

For Prince Harry to effectively continue his crusade of “social activism”, he would need to have the likely possibility of mending the bonds once broken between him and the royal family. As the darling boy of King Charles III, that path would easily be an option — not so much if it was King William.

Despite Meghan Markle’s reported satisfaction with being at war with her in-laws, sources close to Harry report that he had always intended to reconnect with the royal family within the timeframe of his father’s reign, which was once believed to last a few decades. However, this recent change, coupled with the possibility of a sooner-than-expected succession, means that his window of opportunity is significantly shortened.

We may see Prince Harry return to the royal family sooner rather than later — or permanently stricken off the record. After all, sources close to the prince claim that the likelihood of him publishing his scalding exposé on members of the family would have been close to nil had he known that Prince William’s and Princess Catherine’s ascensions may be closer than expected.

Only time can tell what will happen but while we wait, a sense of tension hangs in the air as it seems that everything could change in the blink of an eye — and it just might.