"Any sickness brings families together": Prince Harry says King Charles' cancer diagnosis could have "reunifying effect" on the royal family

Prince Harry broke his silence about his father's cancer diagnosis for the first time in an interview with Good Morning America. In a promotional snippet released ahead of the interview's airing on February 16, the Duke of Sussex spoke positively about the "reunifying effect" an illness could have on a family.

In an interview, he said:

"I think any illness, any sickness brings families together."

On February 5, Buckingham Palace released a statement revealing that King Charles was diagnosed with "a form of cancer" when he was admitted for an unrelated benign prostate condition. The King has currently stepped back from his royal duties to focus on his treatment, and he is convalescing at Sandringham with Queen Camilla.

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Prince Harry was "grateful" to spend time with his father

In the promotional snippet unveiled by Good Morning America on its Instagram story, Prince Harry expressed his gratitude for being able to meet his dad following his cancer diagnosis. He said:

"Look I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him I'm grateful for that."

When asked by host Will Reeve if this medical scare could cause a "reunifying effect" between the father and son, Prince Harry answered positively, saying:

"Yeah, I'm sure. Throughout all these families I see it on a day-to-day basis the strength of the family unit coming together."

King Charles and Prince Harry's relationship has famously been fraught, with the details of their falling out highly publicized through various media outlets like the 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, and, most notably, in the Prince's tell-all 2023 memoir, Spare.

According to the Mirror, Harry has accused his father of lying and humiliating him on various occasions, even implying between the lines in his memoir that the King was jealous of his wife, Meghan Markle. He had previously spoken about how his father had even "stopped taking my calls" and admitted there was "a lot to work through" to mend their relationship.

In the wake of his father's cancer diagnosis, Prince Harry made the 10-hour journey from Los Angeles to the UK to visit his father at Clarence House. After a brief meeting, he spent the night at a hotel and returned home less than 26 hours after landing in London.

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Prince Harry to speak about his wife and the Invictus Games at the interview

Prince Harry will also open up about his life with Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The Sussexes are currently in Canada for the Invictus Games Vancouver Whistler 2025 One Year To Go countdown celebrations.

The sporting event for wounded service personnel was Harry's brainchild, launched in 2014. The Sussexes are also reportedly fond of Canada, as they made their first public appearance as a couple at the 2017 Invictus Game in Toronto.

This interview marks Harry's first appearance after a wave of controversy following the launch of their new website, Sussex.com. As per the Mirror, the couple had earlier released a statement that they "will not be broken" in response to a Telegraph article claiming that the three-day Invictus events would "make or break" their relationship with the royal family.

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The Good Morning America interview is slated to air at 7 am EST on the ABC network on Friday, February 16.