Like most people, I’ve been appalled by the behaviour of Harry and Meghan. But this is why I’m backing his latest move – and why it’s William who must change: NADINE DORRIES

Harry and Meghan have yet to set foot in Britain and already I’m exhausted by the predictable drama accompanying the visit.

Last week we learned that the Duke, Duchess and their children would arrive on July 7, take up an offer of royal accommodation and that Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, would meet with their grandfather, the King.

By Sunday, it wasn’t happening. Harry was reportedly ‘reconsidering’ bringing his wife and children after his request for taxpayer-funded police protection was rejected.

He is said to be distraught that this significant step towards reconciliation with his family is now under threat.

Well, I’m with Harry on this. He should get the security he’s asking for because there is much at stake here.

Like most people, I’ve been appalled by the entitled and destructive behaviour of the Sussexes, the money-grubbing bombshell interviews, the Netflix series; his tawdry memoir and Meghan’s blatant disrespect for our late Queen. They have rocked the institution and heaped upset and pain on the King, Queen, and William and Kate who are committed to public duty and upholding the integrity of the Firm.

But Harry is here for just five days, the official purpose of the visit is to drum up support for his Invictus Games in Birmingham in 2027. The unofficial purpose is perhaps even more important – to allow our King who, let’s not forget, is still undergoing cancer treatment, to spend time with the precious grandchildren he hasn’t seen for four years. As a taxpayer, I don’t begrudge the cost of facilitating that.

Of course, I would love to see a rapprochement between the Sussexes and the Wales family, too, and for George, Charlotte and Louis to get to know their little American cousins.

William is reportedly utterly resistant to the idea. Too angry and too hurt ever to forgive his errant brother and his wife for trashing the family, the institution and causing Kate so much grief.

But I wonder if William might consult someone close to him who has her own experience of a wayward sibling and family tensions. A matriarchal figure who is as trustworthy as she is wise and for whom family is everything… Step forward, Carole Middleton.

Readers may recall that Carole has a younger brother, one Gary Goldsmith, a four-times married, former hell raiser with a tumultuous love life who has faced unsubstantiated allegations of illegal drug use – in 2009, he was filmed cutting lines of cocaine for a sex worker at a party in Ibiza. He famously hosted William and Kate before they married at his luxury party villa in Ibiza, Maison de Bang Bang, was a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother and has never been shy about talking to journalists about his ‘perfect’ niece Kate or offering his opinion on other members of the Royal Family.

The potential for embarrassment was enormous. He is our future queen’s uncle after all. But did Carole banish her only sibling from the family or forbid all contact with ‘Naughty Uncle Gary’ when William and Kate married in 2011? She did not – and Gary attended the nuptials alongside his then-wife Luan.

She has managed these difficult situations with skill and diplomacy. In 2017, for example, when Gary attended niece Pippa Middleton’s wedding, he was allowed into the church but not to the post-wedding reception at the Middleton family home, Bucklebury Manor. It wasn’t a perfect solution, but nor was it destructive and for this I admire Carole Middleton greatly. She has worked hard to maintain cordial, if not ultra close relations with Gary (who now leads a less frenetic life) and her niece Tallulah.

I know from personal experience just how corrosive and toxic a family feud can be. Following a row, my mother and her sister haven’t seen each other in 45 years. Neither even knows if the other is still alive.

Has this brought my mother joy? Is her heart at peace as she looks towards her 91st birthday. I doubt it very much.

There has always been a void in my own heart for the aunt I loved, and a sadness accompanied by the thought – if only. If only they could have moved on. If only they could have found a way back to each other and spent happy years sharing memories over a cup of tea as only sisters can.

This is the empty sadness that I fear awaits William. The anger that still burns bright towards the brother with whom he shared so much, will one day fade, leaving emptiness and thoughts of if only.

So, Wills, why not have a word with your formidable mother-in-law who knows a thing or two about family unity? Put your pride and hurt aside. You won’t regret it – and you may just get your brother back.

Lorenzo keeps me watching

Last week, I wrote that I was being forced to watch ITV’s Love Island. Now, I’ve become addicted to the reality dating show.

One participant, Lorenzo, may have something to do with it. When I was a teenager, just before I started dating my husband, I was engaged to a shockingly handsome Italian and became the envy of every girl on my council estate.

His name was, yes, you’ve guessed it, Lorenzo. It doesn’t hurt to take a trip down memory lane, does it?

The real truth about Partygate

It’s clear that Labour are desperately crafting a response to accusations that they have the same regicidal tendencies as the Tories after Keir Starmer was brutally ejected from 10 Downing Street.

Some have compared Starmer’s ousting to the way Tory MPs turned on Boris over Partygate, which led to his resignation in 2022, as proof that both parties are now as bad as each other. Loyalty, a stranger in their midst.

The counter-narrative began with Robert Peston. On his programme on ITV, he said: ‘Boris Johnson had parties in Downing Street which were against the law.’ On Sunday morning, Steve Reed, Labour MP and Housing Secretary, repeated a similar line to the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire: ‘When Boris Johnson went, he had been having parties in 10 Downing Street during lockdowns, one on the night before the Queen buried her husband.’

I feel compelled to put the record straight. So here are a few facts.

My fellow columnist Boris was never at any parties in No 10. These events took place on Friday nights and were organised and attended by political aides and civil servants. It was Boris himself who asked the Met Police to investigate them.

Boris and his Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, were both fined for attending a midweek, daytime meeting, where some of those attending walked in carrying a cake in a box and singing Happy Birthday. They then sat down and continued the work meeting. The cake never left the box. It’s really simple – and the truth matters.

Heading for trouble

Labour MPs should enjoy the poll bounce once Andy Burnham becomes Prime Minister – because it won’t last for long once people realise that they are going to be hit with an annual property tax and a whole new tranche of death taxes.

No one voted for such policies, but that won’t concern this new administration once Ed Miliband is Chancellor. John McDonnell, Jeremy Corbyn’s right-hand man, wept with joy when Burnham won the Makerfield by-election, which tells you all you need to know about what’s coming. Will the last person to leave Britain please switch off the lights.

My four-year-old granddaughter recently exclaimed in dramatic tones, with her hand clasped tightly against her forehead: ‘Oh, bother, my mind’s gone completely blank.’ She truly is a Dorries girl.