Prince Harry 'can't see' himself ever returning as a full-time royal

Duke of Sussex says his brother Prince William told him to pretend they didn't know each other when they were at school together

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stand behind King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September. Reuters

Prince Harry does not envision ever returning to life as a full-time member of the royal family, but holds out hope that relationships can be mended.

Speaking to Anderson Cooper on CBS's 60 Minutes, the Duke of Sussex provided new glimpses into his upbringing and elaborated on excerpts from his tell-all memoir Spare, which will be published on Tuesday.

Asked if he could imagine returning as a full-time member of the royal family, Prince Harry said: “I can't see that happening.”

But when Cooper pressed him on if the “rupture” with his family could ever be healed, Prince Harry said: “Yes, the ball is very much in their court.”

The interview, which was broadcast in the US on Sunday, was the latest in a series of sit-downs Prince Harry did with British and American news networks to discuss his book.

He appeared on Good Morning America on Monday and was due to appear on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert later in the week.

Earlier on Sunday, he spoke to ITV's Tom Bradby and accused his family of “getting into bed with the devil” to rehabilitate their image, among other claims.

Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years — in pictures

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  Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty

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  Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty

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  The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP

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  Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty

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  Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP

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  The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP

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  Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters

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  Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters

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  Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP

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  Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty

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  Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty

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  Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP

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  Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty

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  Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty

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  Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty

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  The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty

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  Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty

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  Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty

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  Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty

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  Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty

Prince Harry told Cooper that his brother Prince William had told him to pretend “we don't know each other” when they were at school together.

“At the time it hurt,” he said. “I couldn't make sense of it. I was like we went to the same school … I haven't seen you for ages now and we get to hang out together.

“He said 'no, no, when we're at school we don't know each other'.”

The Duke of Sussex says his military service in Afghanistan was a way to turn his “pain into purpose” after the death of his mother.

Prince Harry told Cooper that for him, war had begun “in August 1997", when his mother Diana died, and that he was “fighting himself”.

“I felt healing from that. I felt like I was turning pain into purpose,” he said.

“I didn't have the awareness at the time [to know] that I was living my life through adrenalin and that was the case from age 12.

“The war for me, unknowingly, was when my mum died.”

Prince Harry has drawn criticism for revealing in his book that he killed 25 Taliban fighters during his deployment to Afghanistan, saying he watched video footage of operations to tally the number.

In addition, the Duke of Sussex said he would “never recommend” people do psilocybin — or “magic” mushrooms — recreationally, but told Cooper during the CBS interview that it had a way of “working as a medicine” for people suffering “from a huge amount of loss, grief and trauma” when doing it with the right people.

Prince Harry described Queen Consort Camilla as a “villain” and said her willingness to forge relationships with the British press made her “dangerous”.

“She was the villain, she was a third person in the marriage, she needed to rehabilitate her image,” he told CNN's Cooper.

In a separate interview with Good Morning America on Monday, Prince Harry said the queen consort “sacrificed me on her personal PR altar”.

He attacked what he claimed was Camilla's attempts to “rehabilitate” her image, after being cast as the “third person” in his parents' marriage, but also sympathised with her, saying in the interview that she is not an “evil stepmother”.

Prince Harry said he and his brother are “not texting” and that he has not spoken to his father King Charles III for “quite a while”.

“Do you speak to William now? Do you text?” Cooper asked him.

“Currently, no, but I look forward to us being able to find peace,” Prince Harry replied.

PA contributed to this report