King Charles III and his son Prince Harry are unlikely to fully repair their rift, according to a royal expert.
Biographer Robert Hardman claimed in a Saturday, August 23, Daily Mail excerpt of his latest book about the king, 76, that any prospects for reconciliation between the estranged father and son “had just receded further.”
Harry, 40, has been estranged from Charles since he and wife Meghan Markle stepped down from their duties as senior working royals in 2020, choosing to settle across the pond in California. Harry had publicly been adamant that he was at peace with the distance until learning that the monarch was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” Harry told the BBC earlier this year after losing his latest court battle for enhanced security in England. “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile.”
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Hardman, for his part, alleged in the book excerpt that members of the royals’ inner circle were “frankly appalled” by Harry’s “glib choice of words” regarding Charles’ condition.
Hardman’s book was seemingly written before Charles and Harry’s respective camps held a summit in July. Us Weekly understood at the time that Meredith Maines, the Chief Communications Officer to Harry and Meghan, traveled to London for routine meetings. She met with the U.K.-based communications team, media, stakeholders and senior figures connected to Harry’s patronages.
It has since been speculated that Harry and Charles could jointly attend a meeting in September when the Duke of Sussex travels to London for duties connected to his role as a patron for WellChild.
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Harry last saw his father in person in February 2024, flying to the U.K. right after Charles’ diagnosis was made public.
“I love my family,” Harry said on Good Morning America that month. “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. I jumped on a plane and went to go see him as soon as I could.”
At the time, Harry teased that he had “other” trips to England scheduled.
“I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can,” he said at the time.
