As King Charles delivered a message of unity before Canada's Parliament on May 27, his estranged son, Prince Harry, was on a separate continent thousands of miles away, attending engagements in Shanghai. Despite their rare proximity, the emotional gulf between the monarch and his youngest son remains wide, as a years-long rift shows little sign of healing.
"The underlying issue is trust," royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith told People. "The King and William don't trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation." The rupture began in 2020 when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down from royal duties and relocated to Montecito, California. Subsequent interviews, a Netflix docuseries, and Harry's memoir Spare further strained relations with both King Charles and Prince William.
While Charles has been praised for his resilience and diplomacy-"He could give a master class in diplomatic relations," said Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth-the matter of his fractured family defies ceremonial remedy. "He won't speak to me," Harry said in a BBC interview in May, adding, "I don't know how much longer my father has."
Royal historian Dr. Ed Owens said Charles once saw Harry as "one of his reliable lieutenants he could call on to support the monarchy." But palace insiders now suggest there is little momentum for reconciliation. "There is not a good angel in his ear to say, 'Be a good dad and make the first move,'" said Power and the Palace author Valentine Low.
Queen Camilla "stays out of it," sources told People, and Prince William is reported to have shown no interest in restoring ties. Even longtime palace aides such as Clive Alderton-criticized in Spare-are unlikely to advocate for direct outreach.
Harry's public appeals have only complicated the situation. "It wasn't meant to be an attack, but it would be seen as one," said Low of the BBC interview. Catherine Mayer, author of Charles: The Heart of a King, warned that such estrangement is fraught, especially during a health crisis. "You run that risk every day of having something unfathomable to deal with," she said.
Behind the headlines lies a deeper personal history. As the son of a broken marriage and the public tragedy of Princess Diana's death, Harry's relationship with his father has long been complex. At one point, he even discussed with his uncle Charles Spencer the possibility of adopting his mother's surname, Spencer, but was advised against it due to legal complications.
Another flashpoint is security. Harry has said the loss of his taxpayer-funded protection prevents him from safely bringing Meghan and their children-Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, who turns 4 this week-to the U.K. While Harry believes the King could intervene, palace officials maintain that the courts have "examined [it] repeatedly and meticulously."
Low said the ongoing tension could "potentially damage [Charles'] legacy," even if many Britons separate the personal drama from the King's public duties. "This is a family rift rather than a constitutional rift," he noted. "Both sides have to reach a point where they realize they can't carry on as they are."
