Charles ‘Saddened’ by Harry’s Claims the Palace Is Trying to ‘Sabotage’ Their Reunion—They Could Be ‘Back to Square One’
King Charles and Prince Harry took a significant step forward in their relationship with their first face-to-face meeting in over a year. And yet, one meeting does not fix things. It’s just one step forward. And now, there are reports that there could already be cracks in the recent peace that father and son have found.
The Telegraph is reporting that King Charles is saddened by Prince Harry’s claims that his aides are “sabotaging” his reconciliation with his father. A Buckingham Palace source called the suggestion that there was an attempt to cause problems between father and son “counterproductive.” That same source told the outlet, “It’s very sad, especially because everyone has been working hard behind the scenes to make the private relationship work.”
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Father and son were reunited a few weeks ago for the first time since February 2024 and reportedly spent a little under an hour together at Clarence House. The meeting reportedly was very positive, with Prince Harry telling guests at the WellChild reception later that day that his father was “great.”
However, the reunion was painted by some as a “test” for Prince Harry after his memoir revealed a lot more information than the royal family was comfortable with, with some reports saying that if any details of it leaked, it would be “back to square one” for the two.
No real details leaked at first, however. Instead, reports indicated Prince Harry was now open to bringing Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet to the UK and returning “four or five” times a year to see his family. It felt like reconciliation with other members of the family was just around the corner, even if reports also indicated that there was no way Harry would be a “half-in, half-out” member of the Royal family.
Then came the “sabotage.” On Saturday, September 27, details of the Duke of Sussex’s meeting with his father were published in The Sun. Despite the meeting previously being described as warm and positive, the outlet characterized it as “awkward” and compared it to a diplomatic meeting with a foreign dignitary. The outlet also described gifts exchanged, including a framed photograph of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Prince Harry’s response? To claim that people were trying to “sabotage” the reconciliation by making the meeting sound bad. “The quotes attributed to [the Duke] are pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son, a source said.
As for the gifts, the spokesperson from the Duke confirmed that those were real. They added: “While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity, we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over. However, the image did not contain the duke and duchess.”
This whole thing has left the palace “saddened and perplexed.” A royal source said, according to The Times: “The reality is that senior aides have been working behind the scenes to improve what is a delicate but important private family relationship.”
Sadly, the back and forth has probably put a strain on the relationship, once again. It feels like this is a one-step-forward, two-steps-back situation. Will this relationship ever be fixed?
