Royal Family is Missing The 'Lightness That Harry Once Brought With Him', Claims Source
The British monarchy may appear stable on the surface, but maintaining a meaningful connection with the public has become increasingly difficult. As public engagement becomes harder to sustain, some royal watchers are now questioning whether the institution has lost something less tangible but just as important, that is, warmth.
According to sources cited by OK!, Prince Harry is now being reassessed by royal experts not as a liability, but as a missing asset. With the family entering what one insider has described as “its most joyless era,” there is a growing view that the Duke of Sussex once played a vital role in softening the monarchy’s image—something it now struggles to do without him. Harry, 41, stepped back from royal duties nearly six years ago alongside his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, relocating to the United States and severing day-to-day ties with The Firm. The move fractured family relationships and led to a sharp decline in his popularity in the UK, where he remains a deeply divisive figure.
Even so, supporters argue that his absence has carried a cultural cost. They say Harry brought a sense of ease and approachability that helped bridge the gap between the monarchy and the public at a time when relevance is increasingly fragile. One royal source told the outlet, “What the monarchy is lacking at the moment is the lightness Harry once brought with him. He had a natural humor and ease that cut through formality, and without that presence, the institution feels unusually somber.”
“It has created an atmosphere that many see as its most joyless period in years, making it harder for the public to feel engaged,” the insider added. However, the dynamic is more complicated than it first appears. Insiders have long said that charm came easily to Harry in a way it never quite did to William, and that contrast was a persistent source of frustration. The issue resurfaced during Harry’s UK visit for the WellChild Awards in 2025, when comparisons between the brothers again took hold. At the time, royal commentator Tom Sykes wrote that William’s firm stance was shaped in part by irritation at how effortlessly Harry connected with people, often cutting through royal formality with ease. Sykes argued that William was keen to prevent his brother from drawing on the “fairy dust of royalty” to rebuild his standing outside the institution in his piece for The Daily Beast.
That approach now looks increasingly strained. During his visit, Harry was praised for his “surprising return to form,” prompting renewed questions about whether sidelining one of the family’s most naturally engaging figures has created a bigger problem. The shift was also written about by Amanda Platell, once among Harry’s fiercest critics, who has since redirected her criticism toward the Waleses, branding William and Kate the “Prince and Princess of boring” and warning that without change, they risk deepening the very disconnect the monarchy is struggling to overcome. She wrote, for The Mail, “William and Kate have become the Prince and Princess of Boring. This is why they need to stop skulking around and take a leaf out of Harry's book, or risk Charles's wrath.”