Here's Why Prince Harry's Former Friend Thinks 'He's a Threat to the Crown'

According to Prince Harry's ex-pal, the Duke could be a "powerful voice" if only he mends his broken relationship with the British Royal family. The Duke of Sussex became estranged from the royals after marrying former actress Meghan Markle, and the couple eventually stepped down as senior royals in 2020. 

Since then, Harry and Markle haven't refrained from attacking The Firm on several occasions, including in interviews, the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, and the Duke's tell-all memoir Spare. He revealed many secrets and shared controversial details of his rift with his brother, Prince William, and his wife's confrontation with the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton.

Meanwhile, British journalist Omid Scobie shared his perspective of where the brothers Harry and William stand after the family feud. Although the future remains uncertain, Scobie told PEOPLE, "I saw Harry's release of Spare as his last attempt at telling his family how he's felt for years." 

According to the journalist, the royal brother's relationship is "beyond repair because clearly there's never been an open enough forum to have these conversations or share these feelings." He added, "In the eyes of some within the institution, Harry is a threat to the crown. His freedom to exert his own thinking outside of the confines of the institution has made him the enemy." 

He has also attacked his father, King Charles, many times, and now Harry's former friend insists he's "not a victim" and should avoid talking about the royal family. Edward Charles Featherstone, a pseudonym the man used for himself who was Duke's polo pal, told inside details to The Mirror.

"I can only give you my opinion; what I have a very strong opinion about, though, is that he's not a victim. He's not a victim, and he could be a very, very powerful voice as the torch bearer for Invictus and not what he is doing," said Featherstone. He also said Duke should champion more charity work as he's previously backed many such organizations. 

Featherstone, who has written his memoir, The Rude Beginning, added that Prince Harry's relentless effort to set up the Invictus Games in 2014 has been the torch bearer among other works. The Duke, through Invictus, intended to inspire "recovery through sports, esports and adventurous challenge," as per the website. 

The 39-year-old royal is the patron and co-founder of Sentebale, supporting people in different circumstances in Lesotho. The Sussexes launched other philanthropic initiatives under the Archewell Foundation, covering education, healthcare, and cyberbullying. The couple also joined hands with the GEANCO Foundation to support education and healthcare in Nigeria. 

Although, in an interview with U.K Station ITV, Prince Harry stated he'd like to patch up with his elder brother, William, and father, King Charles, they have "shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile up until this point." He said, "Forgiveness is 100 percent a possibility [but] at the moment, I don't recognize them, as much as they probably don't recognize me."