'Barely Recognizable': Prince Harry to Become 'So Estranged' From Royal Life by the Time William Ascends Throne

Prince Harry could fall into eventual irrelevance if he remains "estranged" from the British royal family as the years go by.

"I think he might be holding out hope for when William becomes King," former royal butler Paul Burrell said on behalf of Spin Genie. "Harry believed there would be a new chapter and a new leaf with a place for him, but he would be so estranged by then that he would be barely recognizable to the public, and I’m not sure they want him back on a full-time role."

For the palace aide who was once called Diana, Princess of Wales' rock, Burrell also sees an even grimmer future for a man he once oversaw as a child next to his mother's side.

"He is quite destructive, and to have someone like Harry would bring a fault line to the royal family because you never know what he is going to do next," he added when discussing William's future reign. "Now he is a resident of America, he always has that possibility of going back to the States to spill the beans, and that is not what William wants: he wants privacy and stability, and he can’t have that with Harry standing beside him."

As King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II before him found out, being on the "outs" with the Duke of Sussex is potentially bad for business. But one former royal courtier feels that "time and silence" are the best policy for addressing Harry and Meghan Markle.

"Celebrity is fleeting; royalty is eternal," the ex-aide quipped. "This is why senior royals are silent at all costs in the face of scandals. You will never pull them by the strings and watch the catastrophe unfold. As the passage of time continues, the voraciousness of the press will bury Harry and Meghan into joking irrelevance."

They continued: "It will be even more pathetic than Wallis and Edward, who took great effort to try and actually enjoy their lives after the abdication scandal, but the Sussex's cannot distance themselves from the royal soap opera; they need it to survive. One only has a finite number of bad 'projects' they can try and sell before people stop clicking. Picture the two of them 30 years from now, 20 years from now if you dare. It is actually quite sad."

Others are quick to point out the severity of the Harry/William feud, which "speaks volumes" about any potential sibling reunion.

"It is the stuff of fantasy," a Hollywood insider dished about hopes the two will bury the hatchet. "And although royalty sells fantasy better than anyone, reality can be far more depressing and this is why many cannot let go of the William and Harry from late summer 1997, walking side-by-side behind their mom's coffin. How could that heroic image go this wrong? People cannot accept it."