Prince Harry stayed near his estranged brother William during his short UK visit to extend “an olive branch”, says a source close to him.

The Duke of Sussex stayed at Coworth Park hotel, in Ascot, Berkshire, last week while attending the two-day hearing at the High Court in London over his police protection being reduced in this country.

The five-star hotel is a short drive from William and Kate’s residence Adelaide Cottage, a four-bedroom home in the grounds of Windsor Castle, within Windsor Home Park.

Coworth Park is also where William stayed with Harry on his last night as a bachelor, before his marriage to Meghan in 2018.
But during last week’s four-day stay, Harry did not meet up with the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, or see his father King Charles before his state visit to Italy with Camilla.

Instead he was seen enjoying meals with former school and Army friends

Close business friends of Harry say his “accommodation decision, which was relayed to Wills and Kate through security services, was seen as a potential olive branch to make peace after so many years estranged”.

The insider noted: “Harry really is keen to try to salvage some kind of relationship or even reopen dialogue.

“They have not had any full-length conversations or discussions since they had some time together around the Queen’s passing.

“And some of us saw Harry being so close to his brother as a gesture of saying ‘hey I am here, close by... what about us trying to work things out’?

“The sad thing is that many of us, within Harry’s friends’ circles, feel he wants to somehow make peace and return to talking terms.

“The problem is that so much has been said by him and his wife on TV – and with Netflix for millions of dollars in profit – which can never be taken back,” they added.

“While it felt the right thing for Harry to do to cleanse his soul of his darkest feelings on life in the monarchy, his brother and father didn’t share the same outlook.

“Their view remains that a line, actually several lines, were crossed and there is no way of returning to how things were a decade ago.”

Harry, 40, flew into London last Sunday to attend his legal challenge against the Home Secretary’s ruling that withdrew his right to police protection at public expense.

He petitioned that his family’s life was threatened by the decision and they required full-scale security for visits back to the UK.

But a Government barrister told the Court of Appeal the Prince’s decision to stop being a working royal resulted in a “unique set of circumstances”.

Sir James Eadie KC said it was right to take a flexible approach to the level of personal security he should be given after he stepped back in early 2020.