Shortly before Prince Philip’s funeral, Prince Harry sent letters to his father. After his hard-hitting interview with Oprah Winfrey, all communication between the two men had broken down, so letters became Harry’s only means of contacting the King.
The more time passes, the less things improve between Prince Harry and the rest of the royal family. Recently, our British colleagues at L’Express revealed that shortly before Prince Philip’s death in 2021, Harry had sent his father, then Prince Charles of Wales, some “deeply personal” letters. At the time, it had been around a year since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle had taken the decision to leave their royal duties and, while the Duke of Edinburgh was battling death, Harry and Meghan were appearing on Oprah Winfrey’s show. A confidential interview that caused a scandal, with the couple not shying away from, for example, accusing the Windsors of being openly racist.
This event caused a major rift between King Charles III and his son. A lack of communication forced Harry to write letters to his father shortly before returning home for Prince Philip’s funeral. A royal source told the Mirror that Harry sent the letters because “he didn’t know what to expect when he got back to London, so he got in touch with everyone before he found them”, adding that Archie and Lilibet’s father had “written a very personal note to his father to try and put things right, but with tensions still high, things didn’t work out as he had hoped”.
Relations still tense
Before leaving the Royal Family, Prince Harry promised to always “respect the institution”. A promise he quickly broke, openly exposing the reasons for his departure and more. By the time the interview with Oprah Winfrey aired, Harry and Charles’ relationship had “hit rock bottom”, with the father of the family deeply hurt by his son’s comments and the fact that he had “washed their dirty laundry in public”. But back in London for the funeral, the Firm had let nothing show: “There was a kind of tacit agreement between everyone to put aside their differences and simply offer all their support to the Queen at this difficult time,” the source told the Mirror. “The prevailing feeling was that this was neither the time nor the place to revisit the affair,” she finished.
Since 2021, Harry has returned to the UK several times, always for official events: the Queen’s platinum jubilee, Elizabeth II’s funeral or his father’s coronation. But nothing more. After his coronation, King Charles III permanently ousted his youngest son from the inner circle of the royal family.
The absence of a father
Harry’s latest affront to his family came on 10 January when he published his memoirs, entitled Spare, in which he attacked the members of the Firm. Right from the start, Harry recounts the death of Princess Diana and the fact that Charles did not give him a hug when he announced the tragic news. The Duke of Sussex writes: “He always gave the impression that he was not quite ready for parenthood. Even he, a proud man, would have admitted it. Single parenthood? Pa wasn’t cut out for it.” Still, he points out that his father did try: “In the evenings, I’d shout: ‘I’m going to bed, Daddy!’ He’d always cheerfully reply: ‘I’ll be right there, my little darling!’ True to his word, a few minutes later he’d be sitting on the edge of my bed.” Perhaps all is not lost for the two men…
Photos credits: Bestimage