Prince Harry Won’t Be a “Half-In, Half-Out” Working Royal, Even If He and King Charles Fully Reconcile

Earlier this month, royal fans hoping for an end to the long-running estrangement between Prince Harry and much of the rest of the royal family got a glimpse of hope following the Duke of Sussex's one-on-one meeting with his father, King Charles.

“It shows the way forward,” a royal source described as having "ties to both sides" told People of the Sept. 10 meeting, which took place at Clarence House in London. “It is a good starting point.”

Speaking to Us Weekly, another royal source described the 55-minute meeting as "super positive," "very relaxed," and "very emotional."

As well as the meeting reportedly went, however, it doesn't mean that Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are going to resume any duties as working royals—or that they even want to.

When Harry and Meghan made the decision to step away from royal life in 2020, the late Queen Elizabeth made it clear that they couldn't not continue to act as working royals on a part-time basis and the decision to step back meant that Harry had to give up his honorary military titles and both he and Meghan lost their royal patronages—things the Duke and Duchess of Sussex reportedly fought to keep at the time of their royal exit.

Following the reportedly-positive meeting, some royal watchers wondered if the Duke of Sussex might push for a partial return to official royal duties for him and his wife, but People reports that Harry "is not seeking a change to the arrangement over any royal work" and "hasn't asked his father for it."

According to a report from The Times, this makes the decision not to push for any change to Harry and Meghan's status as working royals mutual, since the King reportedly has no interest in going against the late Queen's decision about the issue, either.

“The King has been absolutely clear in upholding his late mother’s decision that there can be no 'half-in, half-out' public role for members of the family,” a source said, according to the outlet.

For his part, Harry has gone on the record about the question, via a spokesman, who stressed that the prince is entirely focused on family relationships for the time being.

“The duke has made it clear that the focus is his father," Hary's spokesperson told People. "Beyond that, and on any other issues as it relates to his family, we won’t be commenting.”