A royal expert has revealed The Duke of Sussex had a major worry when he was a senior member of the Royal Family. Before Prince Harry quit life as a senior working royal in 2020, he was worried he would become "irrelevant" one day.

Royal editor for the Sunday Times, Roya Nikkah, writes: "A friend of his once told me that while he was still a working royal, he harboured a Prince Andrew complex of slipping down the pecking order and becoming irrelevant."

The source added: "Harry has always been in such a rush to make an ‘impact’, because he thinks he has a limited shelf life before the public want to hear more from [Prince] George and his siblings, and he worries that after that, he’ll turn into this uncle."

The royal expert also added: "Let’s be clear — Harry is certainly no Andrew, though they share a stubbornness that raises hackles in the royal fold. If Charles is changing course with Andrew, he could also try giving it a go with Harry, who has let it be known that calls to 'Pa' go unanswered and he now learns about his father’s health from the newspapers."

In 2019, the Duke of York said he was stepping back from royal duties as the Jeffrey Epstein scandal became a major disruption to the Royal Family, following his controversial interview on BBC's Newsnight programme and association with the late convicted child sex offender.

Since quitting royal life in 2020 with his wife Meghan Markle, Harry has endured fractured relationships with his royal relatives, including his father and brother. While the Duke of Sussex did see the monarch last year when it was first revealed Charles, 76, has cancer, he has not seen his dad since.

While the King has remained tight-lipped about his relationship with his youngest son, Prince Harry’s friends have told People magazine that the prince’s letters and calls to the monarch have not been answered.

However, In a conversation with ABC’s Good Morning America after seeing his father last year, the duke - who was at an Invictus event at the time - said: "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."

Harry visited Charles at Clarence House after he publicly announced he had cancer in early 2024. The youngest son of the King boarded a plane and visited the King at his residence shortly after the announcement, but was seen leaving the meeting after a brief 45 minutes.

It is not known whether he has any upcoming plans to see his father in the near future.