King Charles’s social media marked Father’s Day by posting two “personal” photos. One photo was Queen Camilla with her father, Bruce Shand, at her second wedding in 2005. The other photo was of Prince Philip pushing Charles and Princess Anne on a swing when they were both pretty small. For some reason, there was a ton of conversation about these photos on social media and beyond, and all of the stories tied it to Charles’s estrangement from his son Prince Harry.
King Charles is commemorating Father’s Day amid a rift with his son Prince Harry. On Sunday, June 15, the King’s team posted a tribute on the Instagram account that he shares with Queen Camilla to mark the occasion. The annual holiday is celebrated on the third Sunday in June in both the U.K. and the U.S.
A black and white throwback photograph of King Charles and Princess Anne being pushed on a swing by their late father, Prince Philip, was shared alongside a snap of Queen Camilla with her own father, the late Major Bruce Shand.
“To all Dads everywhere, we wish you a happy Father’s Day today,” the post was captioned.
The holiday came amid a rift distancing the King, 76, from his younger son, the Duke of Sussex, in a fissure that won’t seem to heal. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, were not invited to the third Trooping the Colour of the King’s reign on Saturday, June 14, where many members of the royal family came together to attend the King’s official birthday parade.
Again, there’s nothing new here. That’s what Charles is counting on too – he hopes that in the gossip-vacuum, people will forget about how he’s treated his son and grandchildren. He hopes that people won’t recognize that he’s a dogsh-t father. Now, that being said… I understand why Charles didn’t post a photo with his sons. The point of Father’s Day is to recognize your own father, correct? So it was notable that Prince William made no move to publicly wish Charles a Happy Father’s Day. Harry obviously did not post anything about Charles either, because Harry’s IG isn’t public (and we don’t even know if he still has one).
Once again, I’m obsessed with how poorly managed this estrangement has been on Charles’s side. If Charles was truly generous of spirit (or he just wanted people to think he was), he would have posted a photo with Harry and William and said something about how he’s super-proud of them. That would have gone a long way, it would have broken this icy estrangement, it would have made Charles look sympathetic. But Charles and his courtiers never even consider doing anything like that.
To all Dads everywhere, we wish you a happy Father’s Day today. pic.twitter.com/pqIK97NqlW
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 15, 2025
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
