King Charles is a horrible father, a terrible brother and a lousy husband. But no one can say any of that to him directly because he’s the king, right? So they have to talk around it, they have to treat him like he’s too delicate to hear that he f–king sucks at interpersonal relationships. Not only that, but his courtiers prefer for Charles to be so toxic towards his family members because that makes him more dependent on staff, on courtiers and on people with competing agendas. That makes Charles more malleable as a king. It also makes him look and act weak, petty, oblivious and out of touch. So here we are – Charles made Prince Harry’s birthday all about Charles. With some help from the courtiers. From Roya Nikkhah’s latest in the Times:
Charles is more concerned about Harry than Andrew: Despite reports of friction between Charles and Andrew over the prince’s apparent reluctance to move from Royal Lodge to the more modest Frogmore Cottage, those in royal circles say Andrew is less of a headache for the King than the unresolved tensions with Harry. A source close to Charles says: “I don’t doubt the film will be popular, but it is unlikely to change public opinion or the status quo.”
The Harry Issue: Another royal source says: “The Harry issue is more important. Although he [Harry] has lost a huge amount of support here, there would undoubtedly be great satisfaction if a resolution was reached, which would be of major benefit to the institution. I think the public has made up its mind about Andrew, and isn’t that exercised about him. It’s just embarrassing because it still makes the headlines.”
The status quo cannot go on much longer: Some royal insiders feel that the status quo of shattered family ties cannot and should not continue for the sake of the monarchy. A royal source said: “They have to reach an accommodation. This standoff can’t go on and on. People will get impatient with the fact that nobody’s trying to mend this.”
Why Charles wished Harry a happy birthday on social media: One step in the right direction could be as simple as an Instagram post. Among royal watchers, all eyes will turn to the royal family’s social media channels to see what birthday wishes will — or won’t — be extended to Harry. There was radio silence across the royal social media channels last year — when he celebrated his 39th birthday with Meghan in Dusseldorf, Germany, at the Invictus Games — which until 2021 marked Harry’s birthdays with photographs, balloon emojis and birthday messages. Courtiers note that “by convention” under Charles’s reign, the royal social media channels flag the birthdays only of working members of the family, but exceptions can sometimes be made for “special birthdays”. It leaves the door open for the King, who is in Scotland this weekend, to break with convention for his younger son’s milestone and authorise a post, should Charles be in the frame of mind to offer an olive branch.
The Anchor King: As a source close to him has observed: “It frustrates him that personal issues intrude on the public duty. He’d much rather the focus was on his work, not the soap opera of the private life. It is always frustrating when family dynamics overshadow the public role.” A source who knows Charles says: “He’s very conscious of being seen to be active, particularly with the other problems in the royal family. He needs to feel he’s being some kind of anchor.”
My eyes glazed over when they started talking about the “conventions” for wishing family members a happy birthday. It’s like no one is capable of saying to Charles: this is your son, speak to him, be a father, acknowledge him publicly and privately. Weeks ago, Team Sussex told People Mag that Charles wasn’t even taking Harry’s phone calls, and y’all remember the way Charles spent weeks throwing a tantrum about Harry’s visit to London in May. Charles refused to see Harry during that visit too. Now Charles wants to pretend that he’s the anchor of the family, that he is the real keen peacemaker. It’s all lies. Charles is a weak, petty and childish man and a dogsh-t father. Incidentally, none of these people can handle the fact that Harry was the linchpin, he was the anchor, he was the peacemaker of the family.
Wishing The Duke of Sussex a very happy 40th birthday today! pic.twitter.com/sAlSiV9EaZ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 15, 2024
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.