With King Charles now medically cleared to resume public-facing royal duties, it's difficult not to interpret his decision to skip seeing his youngest son as anything other than a snub, a new report claimed.
On May 8, King Charles welcomed and mingled with 8000 guests at Buckingham Palace's first garden party of the season. As this was happening, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, was just a 10-minute drive away, attending a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral to honor a decade of his Invictus Games.
Sources claimed Prince Harry tried for almost a month to arrange a meeting with his father during his flight return to London. However, King Charles allegedly declined his request, despite the fact that he permitted his California-based son a brief meeting in February after his cancer diagnosis was made public.
“Charles has hardened up. Time is precious and as much as he wanted to see Harry, the demands were too much,” an unnamed palace source told New Idea Magazine.
It is said that Prince Harry, 39, requested a private meeting with his father, but only if Charles, 75, agreed that Queen Camilla would not be there. “That would’ve deeply hurt the King and ended negotiations swiftly,” the tipster said.
That condition, combined with Prince Harry characterizing his stepmother as a "villain" in his 2023 memoir Spare, became too much for the King.
“[King] Charles loves his two sons, but he also loves his wife. The last few months have made it very clear how important [Camilla] is; she has been the one propping up the whole [royal] edifice,” a well-placed royal insider told website The Daily Beast.
“[Prince] Harry forced Charles to choose, which was silly because Charles and Camilla chose each other a long time ago,” the informant added.
Following the snub, a spokeswoman for Harry issued a statement. “The duke is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities – and hopes to see him soon,” it read.
The tipster said Prince Harry’s statement needled King Charles further.
“It shocked the King. It was completely unnecessary. But sadly, Harry continues to show that he can’t be trusted and as a result, the King prefers, for now, to keep him at a distance,” the mole said.
Business Times has reached out to King Charles and Prince Harry for comments.
