Prince Harry's public discussion of family disputes and commercial interests make him unsuitable for a return to official royal duties, columnist Carole Malone has argued, accusing the Duke of Sussex of undermining trust and drawing attention away from the monarchy's engagements.
Speaking with royal editor Emily Ferguson on the Daily Express's Royals Unscripted podcast, Malone questioned whether Harry could represent the institution without discussing his grievances. Her comments reflect her assessment, rather than an announced palace decision about his future role.
"But the problem is now he's broken the trust," Malone said. "No one can trust him out on a job anywhere because we've got the commercial aspect here as well."
Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back as working royals in 2020. Malone argued that their efforts to earn money created a further obstacle to resuming official responsibilities.
"He can't be a royal again because him and Meghan want to make money," she said.
Her criticism concerned whether Harry could undertake duties on behalf of the monarchy. His status as a member of the royal family is separate from his former role as a working royal, and the discussion established no change to either.
Malone did not identify a specific business arrangement that had prevented an engagement. Instead, she presented the couple's commercial activities and Harry's media appearances as overlapping reasons to oppose a return.
"He can't be trusted in front of a camera with a microphone in his face not to do what he just did in this interview," she said.
The reported discussion did not identify the interview or provide the exchange behind that criticism. It also referred to a remark attributed to Harry about there being "enough drama in the world," which Malone used to challenge his account of the family tensions.
"You cause most of it, matey, where the royal family is concerned, you cause the drama," she said.
Malone further questioned Harry's reported requests for apologies from relatives. The account did not specify those requests or explain the incidents for which he wanted an apology.
Although she acknowledged that the public might not know everything that happened privately, Malone argued that Harry had repeatedly discussed family matters while other royals had largely refrained from answering publicly. That imbalance, she suggested, had compounded the damage to their relationships.
The conversation also addressed competition for media coverage. Malone claimed Harry had displaced a state visit from newspaper front pages, although the account included no comparison of the coverage and did not identify the visit or publications.
"They were expecting front pages on this state visit. They didn't get them. They got inside pages and Harry's on the front of everyone," she said.
Malone predicted that King Charles would seek to preserve contact with his younger son, while Prince William could take a firmer approach toward protecting the monarchy's public image. Neither royal was quoted confirming her interpretation.
"Charles will want to placate because he's of an age where he doesn't want not to be speaking to his son again," Malone said. "But I think Will is now going to be taking the reins on this."
