After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals, the duke’s relationship with some of his family members became very strained. And it certainly didn’t help matters or ease any tensions when Harry decided to discuss his private family matters publicly in the media.
It’s no secret that Harry’s relationship with his older brother seems completely destroyed now as he and Prince William aren’t even on speaking terms anymore and haven’t been for years. But what about things with his father? We’ve heard rumblings for some time that King Charles would like to reconcile with Harry, but it seems the monarch has been cautious about that as he has not welcomed the Duke of Sussex back into the family with open arms.
According to a royal author, Charles is treading lightly with how he handles his youngest son because he was always worried that Harry would do something against the very institution that he used to entirely depend on before their feud.
Prince Harry and Now-King Charles III greeting one another as they arrive to attend the ‘International Year of The Reef’ meeting in London | Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty Images
King Charles was always ‘terrified’ of Prince Harry going rogue
Author and commentator Tom Quinn, who wrote the book Scandals of the Royal Palaces: An Intimate Memoir of Royals Behaving Badly, explained that a lot of Harry’s issues and grievances aren’t just about William being the heir but also about his sibling being the more “reliable” prince. And Harry’s “behavior” over the years always worried Charles that he might one day go rogue.
Speaking to The Mirror, Quinn said: “Harry’s real beef is that he is convinced Charles always preferred William anyway and not just because William is the heir. Harry’s difficulties when he was a teenager and his increasing volatility as an adult terrified Charles who turned to the far more stable, risk-free William.”
Quinn added: “Charles increasingly saw William as a safe pair of hands and Harry as too emotionally unstable.”
Where things stand between the king and his youngest son now
Now-King Charles and Prince Harry listening during the ‘International Year of The Reef’ 2018 meeting at Fishmongers Hall | Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty Images
It was thought that when King Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February that the father and son might be able to move away from their differences and toward a reconciliation However, what leaked after Harry went to see the king in the U.K. made that seem unlikely.
A courtier confirmed that the prince did not ask for Palace approval before he flew in and just showed up unannounced. Their meeting reportedly only lasted a few minutes and Harry’s stepmother, Queen Camilla (formerly known as Camilla Parker Bowles), was in the room with them.
RadarOnline quoted the courtier as saying: “Her Majesty was furious Harry flew in from his ritzy California home without getting palace approval — and came with an attitude.”
The timing of the duke’s visit was just days before he was due to make a couple of appearances and according to the courtier, the queen could not take Harry playing the “loving son” and using her husband’s cancer as a “PR stunt” was the last straw.
