The Queen Reportedly "Doesn't Want History to Repeat Itself" With Prince Harry

• No matter how long Prince Harry is away from the royal family, the Queen will always be willing to welcome him back, a royal expert says.
• Royal biographer Andrew Morton says the Queen sees a lot of her younger sister, Princess Margaret, in Harry and "doesn't want history to repeat itself" by shutting him out.
• "The Queen also knew Margaret sometimes felt like an outsider and I think that’s why she has made sure the door is always open for Harry to return to the royal fold," Morton explained. "She will have a lot of empathy and sympathy for him because she grew up watching her younger sister act the role of the spare, which is not easy."

The Queen (opens in new tab) is never going to give up on Prince Harry (opens in new tab) or close the door to him returning to the royal family, one expert says. Why? Because growing up with her younger sister, Princess Margaret (opens in new tab), gave the Queen a lot of empathy for Harry, according to royal biographer Andrew Morton.

Speaking to Vanity Fair (opens in new tab) while promoting his latest royal biography, Elizabeth & Margaret: The Intimate World of the Windsor Sister (opens in new tab)s, Morton explained how Margaret's experiences in the royal family shaped Queen Elizabeth's approach to handling Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal exit (opens in new tab).

"I think the Queen knows that being the spare is hard and a part of her recognizes that Harry was a sometimes a bit of a lost soul just like her sister," Morton said. "She has always wanted to protect Harry and I think in part that’s because she watched Margaret fall victim to the system. Shutting out Margaret didn’t help and the Queen has learned from that. She didn’t want history to repeat itself with Harry."

Morton says there are a lot of parallels between Harry and Margaret, who was known as a "royal rebel."

"When you compare personalities, Harry is like Margaret, a royal rebel," Morton explained. "Margaret once said ‘disobedience is my joy’ and you see some of that in Harry. The Queen also knew Margaret sometimes felt like an outsider and I think that’s why she has made sure the door is always open for Harry to return to the royal fold. She will have a lot of empathy and sympathy for him because she grew up watching her younger sister act the role of the spare, which is not easy."

Whether it's because of his similarities to her sister or not, the Queen and Harry have always had a special bond (opens in new tab), and that clearly hasn't changed since the royal exit.

"She has a lot of affection for Harry. She was there the day Harry lost his mother and has been there for him ever since," Morton said. "She has deliberately taken him under her wing. I think as a grandmother she has been far more understanding than as a mother at times."