Prince Harry’s team subtly but surely conveyed the hurt he feels that his father, King Charles III, wouldn’t make time to see him when he was in London this week for a 10th anniversary celebration of the Invictus Games.
Sure, there was talk from Harry’s spokesperson about the two men having “scheduling” conflicts during the Duke of Sussex’s three-day trip to London. Arriving from California Tuesday, Harry had some meetings, then arrived at St. Paul’s Cathedral Wednesday for the Invictus Games anniversary.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Charles hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace, then was scheduled to have an audience with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a Privy Council meeting. He’s also had hospital appointments for his ongoing treatment for cancer.
TOPSHOT – Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex waves as he arrives to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
In a statement, Harry’s spokesperson said that a meeting between the two was “unfortunately … not possible due to His Majesty’s full program,” The Telegraph reported. The spokesman also said that Harry is “understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
Whether Harry really is “understanding” may never be known — until anonymous “insider” sources from either his camp or from Buckingham Palace leak behind-the-scenes observations to the media. But royal watchers definitely opined Wednesday that Harry was “snubbed” and that his father was sending him an “ominous” message.
Charles’ unwillingness to schedule even 15 minutes to see his estranged son this week, after Harry traveled all the way from California, is an indication that “the palace gates remain firmly closed,” said journalist and author Richard Kay. The relationship between Harry and with his father and the rest of the royal family appears to be “more broken than ever,” Kay also said.
Royal expert Michael Cole agreed, telling the Daily Mail: “It is quite a snub. For the king to not see his younger son, although the two men will be only two miles apart (Wednesday), gives an indication of the depth of the divide.”
“The prodigal son is not welcome — not for the present, anyway,” Cole continued. “In royal terms, this is big medicine. Prince Harry is bound to see it for what it is, the clearest possible indication of the hurt that has been caused.”
Piers Morgan, a fierce critic of Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, was even more blunt about “the snub,” writing in The Sun: “Let’s be honest: if Charles had really wanted to see him, he’d have made the time. That’s the whole point of being a king, you get to do what the hell you like.”
But Morgan said it’s clear from the statements about “scheduling” issues that “Charles would rather impale himself on a rusty sword than meet up with someone who has wrought such vengeful misery on the royal family for so many years now.”
Before Harry traveled to London from his home in Montecito, he had made no secret of his desire to see his father again, as the king undergoes treatment for an undisclosed form cancer, The Telegraph reported. In February, Harry told ABC News how he jumped on a plane, “as soon as I could,” to fly to London to see his father, after his father publicly disclosed that he had cancer.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 8: King Charles III speaks to guests during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on May 8, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Jordan Pettitt – Pool/Getty Images)
“Look, I love my family,” Harry insisted. “The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.”
Before this week, royal observers thought that Harry might use his time in London to spend some time with Charles, marking another step towards a reconciliation.
Harry has been on the outs from his family ever since he and Meghan, his American wife, stepped away from royal duties in 2020 and moved to her home state of California. The estrangement grew as Harry and Meghan, via interviews, a Netflix series and Harry’s memoir “Spare,” publicly criticized the monarchy and alleged that certain family members were cruel, guilty of racism — or of “unconscious bias” as Harry preferred to put it. Harry also accused family members, particularly his father’s wife, Queen Camilla, of leaking negative news about them to favorite tabloid journalists.
But Harry has since tried to convey the message that he hopes to heal the rift with his family and move past their differences — especially after learning that both his father and Kate Middleton, the wife of his brother, Prince William, have been diagnosed with cancer.
In his interview with ABC News, Harry spoke about how an illness like cancer can bring families together. He also vowed to visit his father in the near future. “I’ve got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK, so I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can,” he said.
Still, as much as Harry tried to portray his “dash” to London in February as a positive step towards reconciliation, The Telegraph noted that his trip still faced challenges. Harry’s sudden arrival in London reportedly forced Charles to change his plans at the last minute, and Harry wasn’t invited to travel with his father to his country estate.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Kay suggested that Charles’ cancer diagnosis may have had the opposite effect on his relationship with his son. “The illness has, if anything, added to their estrangement,” Kay said.
The snub narrative has been amplified this week by the announcement that Charles would officially hand over a key ceremonial role in the British military to William, the Prince of Wales and his direct heir. The king will name William as colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps.
The Telegraph reported that Charles probably would have handed the colonelcy to Harry, an Army veteran who had flown Apache helicopters in Afghanistan. But the late Queen Elizabeth II removed Harry’s military titles when he stepped away from royal duties.
At this point, the king may find that encounters with Harry have become more of “a burden than a a pleasure,” especially as he battles cancer, Kay wrote. Two people important to him also may have a problem with welcoming Harry back into the royal fold. These two people are Camilla, who has been the subject of Harry’s “lacerating attacks,” and William, Kay added. Harry has portrayed William as having anger management issues, while William may never forgive his brother for hurtful comments he made in “Spare” about Kate.
“The opposition of Camilla and William would be formidable to Charles,” Kay quoted a courtier as saying. “For all his affection for Harry — which remains — and sadness at the deep rift that has developed, his ties with his wife and older son are far deeper.”