The awkward photo of Harry and Andrew the royals will want to avoid

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s return to Britain could lead to a family reunion that will give King Charles and his advisers one of their biggest headaches. While keeping the Duke and Duchess of Sussex apart from the Prince and Princess of Wales presents enough of a challenge, the picture that palace officials will be keenest to avoid will be of Harry with his disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Harry, 41, used to get on well with Mountbatten-Windsor, who is 66. Both are war veterans once venerated as heroes. But in the past few years, Harry has voiced his contempt for his uncle and is expected to avoid him unless they have to be in the same place together. “I think his relationship with Andrew is well known,” one source close to Harry said. Shorts Buckingham Palace will likely want to avoid a repeat of the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September last year, when Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed talking to a decidedly uncomfortable William in front of the cameras. “I think they’d have Andrew arriving in a car by a side entrance in future,” said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams. Mountbatten-Windsor and Prince William were captured on camera together at the Duchess of Kent’s Requiem Mass service at Westminster Cathedral (Photo: Max Mumby/Getty) For the moment at least, it is difficult to imagine such a reunion happening. Mountbatten-Windsor – who was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office in relation to his connections with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – has been left in effective internal exile. The former prince, who was released following his arrest and strongly denies any wrongdoing, has not joined the family up at Balmoral this summer amid reports that he did not feel welcome and turned down the invitation. This year’s trip to the Scottish Highlands, coinciding with news of the couple’s imminent return, has been dubbed the Sussex summit. But these family gatherings may well have some extra guests in the future. If the King’s reconciliation with his younger son and daughter-in-law goes well, there could be occasions where Harry, Meghan and Mountbatten-Windsor will be invited: Christmas at Sandringham perhaps, Easter at Windsor, or in any event a relative’s funeral. Another headache for palace officials could be if Harry and Meghan decide to support trafficking and abuse victims when they return to the UK, which could lead to further scrutiny of Mountbatten-Windsor and his friendship with Epstein. The couple have previously visited a charity for sexual assault victims. Meghan has worn jeans made by former human trafficking victims, and the couple have campaigned on behalf of young women subjected to online sexual abuse. ‘Sex crimes weren’t on the list’ In his memoir Spare, Harry compared his and Meghan’s treatment to that of Mountbatten-Windsor before he was stripped of all his titles and royal privileges. “He was embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of the sexual assault of a young woman, and no one had so much as suggested that he lose his security,” he complained. “Whatever grievances people had against us, sex crimes weren’t on the list. Earlier this year, People magazine, a US outlet close to the Sussexes, reported that Harry had always been “frustrated” by comparisons to his uncle. “It was never fair to lump them together,” an insider told the magazine. “Harry served his country, did the job well and never engaged in misconduct – yet lost security and housing, while Andrew was protected for years.” To add insult to injury, he and Meghan were reportedly exasperated when the King asked them to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their home in Windsor, after he acceded to the throne. The house was then reportedly offered to Mountbatten-Windsor, as the King was trying to force him out of his then home, Royal Lodge. One former senior royal aide thought it unlikely that the Sussexes would be seen in public with Mountbatten-Windsor but admitted it was possible that they could be invited to attend family gatherings or events such as funerals or weddings. “I think they’d want to distance both of them from the rest of the family and try to avoid any photographs of them together,” the source said, adding that it would be a test of the Royal Household’s long experience and expertise in choreography. Avoiding awkward photos could be a test of the Royal Household’s expertise in choreography (Photo: Chris Jackson/Getty) As things stand, it is extremely unlikely that either the Sussexes or Mountbatten-Windsor would be invited to state occasions such as Trooping the Colour or Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph. Under current practice, those sorts of official events tend to be restricted to taxpayer-funded working members of the Royal Family. Fitzwilliams, the former editor of The International Who’s Who, said the return of the Sussexes posed a wider public relations predicament for the monarchy. “The problem now is that at every single royal event there will be headlines about whether Harry and Meghan are going to be invited. I think they are really looking at Easter and Christmas but you can see it now if they do go or if they don’t: ‘Harry and Meghan left to spend Christmas alone’.” Phil Dampier, author of Royally Suited: Harry and Meghan in Their Own Words, and a former royal correspondent, thought the chances of Harry and Mountbatten-Windsor bumping into each other by chance were remote. “The only events that I can imagine they would be seen together at would be Easter, Christmas, or a funeral or wedding. So at that point it really would be an extraordinary picture to get of the two black sheep of the Royal Family in the same frame. “They used to be on quite good terms but now they are on totally different paths.”