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Prince Harry is sharing the five words of advice from Meghan Markle that he’ll “always fall back on.”
The Duke of Sussex, 41, returned to the U.K. last week and met with his father, King Charles, for the first time since February 2024, reflecting on the trip in a new interview with The Guardian — including the valued advice he received from his wife, 44.
“She said, ‘Just stick to the truth.’ It is the thing I always fall back on. Always,” Harry said, recounting that Meghan told him that it’s “the most efficient way to live.”
“And if you think like that, who would be stupid enough to lie? It takes up too much time and effort,” he added.
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Harry has been estranged from his family, particularly his father and brother, Prince William, in recent years, amid his step back from royal life and move to California in 2020. He has since spoken about the rift in interviews, a Netflix docuseries and his 2023 memoir, Spare.
However, his recent visit to the U.K. and reunion with King Charles, 76, appeared to be a step toward reconciliation.
Seemingly referring to his father’s health — as the King revealed in February 2024 that he was being treated for an undisclosed cancer — Harry told the publication that, in the coming months, “the focus really has to be on my dad.”
After having previously said that he didn’t want to bring his wife and children back to the U.K. over conflict about his family’s security protections, Harry seemed to ease up on that declaration in the new interview, admitting that this latest visit has made him want to share his home country with his kids, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4.
“Yes, I would. This week has definitely brought that closer,” he said.
“I have always loved the U.K., and I always will love the U.K.,” Harry added. “It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about. I have been able to spend some time with people that I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”
Despite the mixed reactions to him pulling back the curtain on royal life, Harry said that his “conscience is clear” when it comes to what he put in his memoir.
“I don’t believe that I aired my dirty laundry in public. It was a difficult message, but I did it in the best way possible,” he said, calling Spare “a series of corrections to stories already out there.”
“I know that [speaking out] annoys some people and it goes against the narrative,” he added. “One point of view had been put out, and it needed to be corrected.”
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When it comes to his relationships with his father and William, Prince Harry seems hopeful for the future but said, “You cannot have reconciliation before you have truth.”
“It is not about revenge, it is about accountability,” he said. “I think parts of the British press want to believe that I am miserable, but I’m not. I am very happy with who I am, and I like the life that I live.”
