The last few years have been tough on the image of the royal family, and Prince William and Prince Kate are making up for it in spades. But Tina Brown, magazine editor and author of The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth, and ...... : Tina Brown, magazine editor and author of The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil (opens in new tab), says the pressure is not sustainable for the couple and that Prince Harry may have to consider returning may need to consider a return.

First, the "farm" had to do some serious "damage control" when Prince Andrew gave a disastrous interview in 2019 about allegations of sexual assault against him by Virginia Giuffre. The result was a slow meltdown, during which "abolition of the monarchy" trended on Twitter and it became clear that Andrew was poison to the royal family; by early 2022, he had been stripped of his royal titles and responsibilities and was no longer seen at royal functions.

Losing one royal to scandal was perhaps troubling for a royal family whose motto seems to be "don't admit to problems." But Andrew's exit also came at a time when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said goodbye to their royal duties to live a relatively peaceful life in Montecito, California. The loss of the beloved couple shattered the public's perception of the royal family as a stable institution and put pressure on Prince William and Kate to pick up the slack. (The shocking Oprah interview in which Harry and Meghan spoke of their unfair treatment at the hands of other family members certainly did not help.)

In a conversation with the Guardian's Today in Focus podcast (reported by The Independent), Brown speculated that the "undue pressure" on William and Kate was likely unsustainable. 'The slimmed-down monarchy is a bit problematic at the moment because they weren't supposed to lose Andrew or Harry. 'We will make every effort to focus on the heirs, Prince Charles and William and Kate. But there is a great deal of pressure to do so."

Prince Charles has said for years that he intends to create a "streamlined monarchy" when he eventually ascends to the throne, but the sudden loss of three previously very present members of the royal family in a way that would be a scandal to the royal family was not what he had imagined I guess it was.

"I think at some point, especially after the Queen's death, we will need Harry back because he was an asset," Brown said.

Of course, the unanswered question remains: given the bad blood that has sprung up between Prince William and Prince Harry, is Harry's return possible?