Amid strained relationship with the UK royals, Prince Harry is building bonds with Princess Diana's family: Expert

Ever since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan officially stepped down from their duties as senior members of the royal family in January 2020, it is known that their equation with the UK royals is quite strained. And over the past few months their relationship with the royal family has only deteriorated, more so after Meghan's explosive interview with Oprah which was followed by Harry's tell-all memoir 'Spare'.
All of this has only led to more tensions between Prince Harry, his father King Charles III, and elder brother Prince William. So much so that the last time Harry and William met was at their uncle's funeral in August 2024, and reports suggest that the brothers didn't speak to each other. Meanwhile, Harry last met his father King Charles III earlier this year when the latter was diagnosed with cancer. Commenting on their meeting, Richard Fitzwilliams-- a royal commentator, told GB News, “It didn't make a whole deal of sense when they only met for half an hour the first time when he came over immediately... When the King meets David Beckham and not Harry, it speaks for itself. There is a big rift in the Royal family, and there remains a big rift."
Also, it is noted that Prince Harry hasn't met any senior members of the British royal family since then, reports suggest. Adding more fuel to the fire is the fact that King Charles III didn't send an invitation to Prince Harry and Meghan to celebrate Christmas with them this year.
However, while Harry's equations with his royal family seems to be strained, some reports suggest that he has close bonds with his late mother, Princess Diana's side of the family. So much so that his maternal uncle and Diana's younger brother, Earl Charles Spencer, had even attended the Invictus Games' 10-year anniversary event at St Paul's Cathedral in May 2024. This shows how close Harry is to his mom's side of the family.
Commenting on this, Fitzwilliams further said, “Harry is fostering contacts with the Spencers because they supported the Invictus service at St Paul's, and we know that there's contact there and closeness that there doesn't seem to be with the Royal Family except with Eugenie in Portuguese.”
For the unversed, after stepping down from their duties as senior members of the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan are now living in California with their two children-- son Archie and daughter Lilibet. Interestingly, their daughter is named after Harry's late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, as Lilibet used to be her childhood nickname.