Things have been quiet between Prince Harry and his father lately, but not necessarily in the “no news is good news” way. Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly decided to limit their comments on the royal family over the summer in order to better focus on their family and their future, and while that seemed to provide a glimmer of hope for reconciliation at some point, King Charles III remains estranged from his younger son. In fact, according to royal author Duncan Larcombe, the king has been “subtly punishing” Prince Harry after his repeated betrayals.
In the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan and his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex made some wild allegations about his father, brother, stepmother and others. Tensions have continued to rise in the months since, with Prince Harry leaving London quickly after King Charles’ coronation and not meeting up with his father on his other trips to the UK. Duncan Larcombe alleges that while the king is still willing to communicate with Prince Harry, he’ll only do so through palace advisors, as the author told The Sun:
It appears that King Charles’ approach towards Harry now is business as usual - ‘if you want to see me you need to make an appointment’. Harry will have to get past the grey suits and jump through hoops to talk to his father. It's very standoffish but I think that's a way that the king is subtly punishing his son.
This so-called punishment comes after Prince Harry reportedly snubbed his father’s offer to stay with him while he was in London to mark the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death. Harry did take time to visit his grandmother’s burial site on a private visit — as was done by several other members of the royal family.
King Charles III is also still reportedly upset about Prince Harry calling Camilla a “villain” in his tell-all book and during interviews around the time of its release. The royal author continued:
Harry has said some deeply hurtful things about Camilla, and yet the King will still correspond with his son, albeit not directly. It’s remarkable really, because when Charles became King he said he loved Harry and Meghan which was a huge olive branch - which Harry then took, snapped in half and then hit him with it. That said, the King is still keeping those channels of communication open, where William isn’t. The brothers’ line of communication is completely broken.
While the king is reportedly still hurt by what Harry has said about Camilla, other rumors have suggested that King Charles is similarly “sick and tired” of his wife and others’ complaints about his son.
The author also makes the situation between Prince Harry and his brother sound dire, as Prince William and remains “incredibly upset” about Spare, and his wife Kate Middleton as well is “quite devastated” by the anecdotes her brother-in-law shared.
It doesn’t sound like healing is coming anytime soon for the royal family, with even King Charles now apparently making it harder for Prince Harry to communicate with him. If you want to see what the Sussexes had to say in their docuseries, Harry & Meghan is available to stream with a Netflix subscription.
