It’s no secret that the royal family’s 'Fab Four' era feels like a lifetime ago. Between the tell-all memoirs, the move to Montecito, and the very different paths the Sussexes and the Waleses have taken since 2020, we’ve grown used to seeing Prince Harry and Kate Middleton on opposite sides of a very public divide (albeit with the occasional rumour that Kate is trying to mend the rift behind-the-scenes).
However, a surprising moment of synchronicity has just emerged out of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s current royal tour of Jordan – with Prince Harry's comments strongly echoing those of his sister-in-law.
While visiting the National Centre for Rehabilitation of Addicts in Amman, Prince Harry delivered a powerful, heartfelt message that felt like a direct, if subtle, tribute to the work Kate has been championing back in the UK. Chatting with a group of recovering addicts, Harry said plainly: "There's no shame in having an addiction."
He thenwent on to explain that substance abuse isn't a character flaw but something that "stems from something else, which is an emotional pain."
If those words sound familiar, it’s because the Princess of Wales has been saying almost exactly the same thing. A few months back in November, for Addiction Awareness Week, Kate released a poignant message as patron of The Forward Trust, urging the public to swap "judgement" for "compassion and love."
The Princess, much like the Prince, said addiction is a "complex mental health condition" not a "personal failing".
It's a sign that shows the mental health campaign, Heads Together, which Kate, Harry and Prince William previously launched together, and the importance of seeking support is still a shared cause. Perhaps this could be the thing that sees the family reunite and leave the past in the past?
