Prince Harry hopes to reconcile with King Charles, William

LONDON – Britain's Prince Harry hopes to “draw a line” under past battles, including those with his family, and wants to reconcile with his father, King Charles III, and estranged brother, Prince William.

In an interview with GQ magazine recorded last month and released on Tuesday, Harry also revealed his lingering guilt over his last phone call with his mother, Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex said he was “optimistic” following his move back to Britain in August with his wife, Meghan, and their two children, after six years living abroad.

“There are, you know, some battles that have been fought, necessarily so, but hopefully we can all draw a line under that,” he told GQ in an interview recorded in New York.

“With everything else that's going on in the world, there are aspects of the past that I'm sure all of us – me, my family, some of the British press – would like to leave behind us and work for the greater good.”

Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020 amid a major rift with the royal family before relocating to the United States.

They have enrolled their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, in a British school believed to be in the rural Cotswolds area, where the family is thought to be living.

Harry said the move back to Britain was driven partly by the “opportunities” it offered their children, adding that giving them a taste of British schooling “meant a lot to me”.

'Scars are forever'

Harry said he also wanted to be closer to his family and spend more time in Britain, rather than returning only for short visits.

He said he wanted to “work things out” with his 77-year-old father, who is being treated for cancer, and his brother William, heir to the British throne.

“The most important thing is to reconcile,” he said, adding that “scars stick around forever”.

Last week, Harry and Meghan were greeted by crowds of well-wishers during their first joint public appearance since returning to Britain.

“I'm hopeful,” Harry said. “I'm not naive ... And I think a large part of this is about respect as well.

“Our position is really quite clear now. And hopefully we can get on with life.”

Harry also spoke about the years of therapy he underwent following the death of his mother in a Paris car crash in 1997, when he was 12.

“One of my biggest regrets is that last phone call I had with her,” he told GQ, explaining that he had wanted to run off and play with his cousins.

“If I'd known it was the last call with her, how different that conversation would be,” he said.

He added that the guilt had stayed with him and felt “heavy”.