King Charles III Extends an Olive Branch to Prince Harry & Meghan Markle in First Speech

On Friday, King Charles III made his first speech, which gave royal watchers the first impression of how he intends to lead the Commonwealth. He’s definitely taking a page from Queen Elizabeth’s playbook to honor the monarchy, but he also took the time to mention two members of the family, who have frankly looked like outsiders over the last year: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Ever since the duo exited their senior roles, the family feud has only escalated, with much of the fighting being played out in the press. Harry and Meghan didn’t feel supported when they were working royals and the palace feels betrayed by their interviews which have aired quite a bit of dirty laundry. So the fact that King Charles mentioned the couple in such a historic speech really feels like he’s extending the olive branch to them — it’s almost as if he’s trying in his own way to say, “Let’s end the feud now.”

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“I also want to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” King Charles said with some heartfelt emotion. While some royal fans appreciated his sentiments, others noted that the couple were excluded from much of the proceedings over the last 24 hours. With reports from royal expert Katie Nicholl that Meghan “was not invited to join the family,” she believes that it’s “quite significant that Prince Harry traveled to Balmoral on his own without his wife.”

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The royal family cannot have it both ways — spouting peace and love in public speeches while shunning the Duke and Duchess of Sussex privately. Harry and Meghan are also going to have to find some common ground with the palace if they want the rift to end, but it’s in Charles’ hands to make it all work now that the Queen has passed.

Before you go, click here to see photos of Queen Elizabeth II’s family over the years.

Launch Gallery: Everything Harry & Meghan Have Done Since Leaving the Royal Family

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