Prince Harry should stop discussing his family publicly if he wants to rebuild relationships with King Charles III and Prince William, public relations expert Eric Schiffer has argued, following the duke's latest interview about reconciliation.
Speaking to Newsweek, Schiffer questioned whether Harry's efforts to explain himself to the public could coexist with repairing private family ties. His criticism followed a GQ interview promoting a MasterClass project about grief, in which Harry reiterated his hope that the estrangement could end.
"Make a selection-do you want a relationship with your father and your brother, or do you want to try to stop the bleed out of reputational challenges, because you can't have both, and if he's going to focus on his reputation, then he has to keep his mouth shut with his family, don't talk about it, don't comment," Schiffer said.
The assessment concerned Harry's communications strategy. Schiffer was not speaking for either Charles or William, and his comments offered no confirmation of how they received the interview.
In the GQ conversation, journalist Zach Baron asked Harry whether he grieved the distance between himself and his father and brother. The duke placed his experience within a broader discussion of broken relationships between siblings, parents and children.
"I think from a family perspective - again, another massively relatable issue for so many people - sibling disagreements, broken relationships between kids and their parents, kids and one parent. That continues to come up with me the whole time with people that I speak to, so I know how relatable it is," Harry said.
He also discussed the difficulty of resolving disputes when those involved do not share the same willingness to move forward.
"And some people don't want it to work out. I want it to work out," he said.
That remark drew suggestions that Harry was criticising relatives. A spokesperson rejected the interpretation, saying the observation concerned family conflicts generally.
"It was absolutely not intended as a swipe at his brother or any other member of his family. The comment was made in a general context and was not directed at his family in any way," the spokesperson said.
Harry separately emphasised reconciliation as a priority. His public appeal, however, did not establish whether discussions with Charles or William were underway.
An unnamed source quoted in a separate media report claimed William could not currently imagine repairing the relationship and remained hurt by Harry's comments about family members. That account was not a statement from William, whose private position has not been independently established.
The interview extends a series of public appeals by Harry alongside criticism of his relatives. During his 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, he said he felt let down by his family and described Charles and William as "trapped" within the royal system, while expressing love for them.
In 2023, Harry again said he wanted his father and brother back in his life, but accused some royals of cooperating with the press against him and Meghan Markle. He said there had been "absolutely no willingness to reconcile" and argued that taking responsibility was necessary before relations could improve.
He renewed his appeal in May 2025, saying the continuing dispute served little purpose and stressing that life was precious.
