The word is that Prince Harry is planning to make more frequent trips back to the UK. He wants more of a foothold here and less drama. It’s a novel idea because Harry and drama have walked hand in hand for the past few years. Much of that has been of his own making, but next year is going to be a flashpoint because it will be the 30th anniversary of the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. All eyes will be on two warring brothers.

Will William and Harry finally stand side by side at such a poignant memorial event – several are expected to be organised by charity The Diana Award – or will their bitter estrangement continue? Either scenario will be a drama.

Harry was 12 when his mother died. Next month he will be 42: an age at which surely the fire and fury that have raged inside him should be melting away? But when he lost his court case against Associated Newspapers last month, the red mist came down again as he fired off an angry statement declaring the judgement a whitewash.

In the next week or so he will learn how much that court case has cost him – and it could run into millions. His response could tell us whether he really is prepared to leave all the courtroom drama behind.

Apart from these occasional outbursts, it does seem to me that Harry is now a man with his eyes focused firmly forward. Perhaps he has laid his demons to rest by shouting about his grievances so publicly and relentlessly. But can he now really expect the family he lambasted so brutally to forgive and forget? It’s a big ask.

The monumental task ahead for him is to regain the trust of his father and brother. So far, he has honoured his side of the pact to say nothing about his recent visit to King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove. That will have given some encouragement to Charles and his advisers.

Despite his ongoing campaign to be given the security he believes he merits, the Prince has found a way to bring his family to the UK and show his children something of their heritage. Next year he will undoubtedly want to bring them to one of his most cherished causes, the Invictus Games.

If we do start seeing him at more charity events over here, as well as conducting his now quite regular visits to Ukraine, perhaps you could argue that he has achieved what he asked for in the first place. Not quite half in and half out – but a way of doing traditional royal engagements even though he’s not part of “the firm”.

It’s something I think he and Meghan should have been allowed to do in the first place.
But the late Queen Elizabeth II was implacable. As a result the monarchy lost two people who could have helped forge important links between the Crown and Britain’s diverse communities. And William lost his brother.

What a tribute it would be to Diana if her sons could finally be reconciled on the anniversary of her untimely death. But if Harry’s fire has been quelled, the anger smouldering inside William – who is known to be a stubborn character – could be much harder to extinguish. He feels betrayed by the brother who sold the family secrets – or at least Harry’s version of them — and now wants to be allowed back into the fold. If any truce is to be called, it will be William who does the calling.

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