During his return to the UK to unveil a statue of his late mother, Prince Harry is to “planning to reunite with friends he cut off after his marriage to Meghan Markle.”

Mail on Sunday reports that when the Duke of Sussex was last in the UK – for Prince Philip’s funeral in April – he organised a surprise ‘lads’ lunch,’ prompting his pals to anticipate more socialising now that he has returned to unveil the Princess Diana monument.

Many of those present at the meal were allegedly male guests and ushers from Harry’s bridal party, but Harry’s elder brother William was not invited.

Others in Harry’s inner circle who were present at the ceremony were ‘deputy best man’ Jack Mann, Charlie van Straubenzee, LA friend Arthur Landon, and Harry’s ‘surrogate godfather’ Mark Dyer, who runs a pub chain in West London.

According to a source, following the wedding, Prince Harry tried to “cut everyone from the UK off” before departing for the United States.

“But now he’s at last showing signs of wanting to reconnect with his old life.

“His friends are really excited, they think that the old Harry is coming back out of his shell.

“It sounds like he’s starting to realise that he doesn’t have to abandon his old life to enjoy a new one in California with Meghan,” they added

‘The two worlds he now occupies are not mutually exclusive for his friends, though they may well be for his family.’

Prince Harry, who arrived in England on Friday, is said to be self-isolating in Frogmore Cottage in Windsor for five days before reuniting with William, 39, at Kensington Palace on July 1, which would have been Princess Diana’s 60th birthday.

While Harry is eager to reunite with his friends, the rift between him and his brother seems to be wider than ever.

The Duke of Cambridge was best man at his brother’s wedding, and his absence in April when Harry held a ‘Lads lunch’ with pals may be attributed to the siblings’ continuing feud.

A source told the newspaper: ‘It’s sad that William was not included in Harry’s plans for a lads’ lunch during the last visit. The only Royals who seemed to see a lot of him were Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

‘But then, Harry had a strange ‘deputy’ best man arrangement at his wedding, so as far back as then he can’t have been privately counting William as his best friend any more.’

Meanwhile, Harry and his brother William will present an unified face during the unveiling of the monument next week.

Kensington Palace announced that the royal brothers, Diana’s close relatives, and others engaged in the statue’s preparations would attend the event in Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden.

Meghan will not attend the occasion since she has just given birth to the couple’s second child, Lilibet Diana.

According to another royal insider, the occasion will be “very personal moment” for the princess’ sons and close relatives.

“This is a small event and a very personal moment for the family,” they said.

“Plans have been scaled back due to the current COVID-19 restrictions and media arrangements reflect both the size and tone of the event.”

Meanwhile, William’s wife, Kate Middleton, is allegedly not on the guest list owing to capacity constraints.