As Prince Harry’s 40th birthday looms on the horizon, tensions between the Duke and the rest of the royal family remain at an all time high, following a string of allegations levelled against the family in both Harry’s memoir Spare, and his recent documentary series. Yet while the Duke has attempted to mend some bridges and reached out to his father and brother-in-law Prince William amid King Charles and Kate Middleton ’s ongoing cancer battles, things continue to remain strained between Harry and his loved ones.
Acknowledging the estrangement in an interview ahead of the release of his memoir Spare last year, the Prince told ITV broadcaster Tom Bradby, “I would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back,” but “they’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile”.
In the book itself, Harry levelled a number of claims against his brother in particular, including that William physically attacked him and knocked him to the floor in Nottingham Cottage’s kitchen during an argument about Meghan in 2019.
The book also had a less than hospitable view of King Charles too, and portrayed him as an emotionally stunted father that married Queen Camilla despite the pleas of his sons not to. It also accused Charles of being jealous of his sons’ popularity, and made disparaging remarks about the Queen Consort as he accused her of “leaving bodies in the street” in a quest to boost her own image.
A crucial decision by King Charles ahead of the Queen’s funeral added further strain to his relationship with son Prince Harry (
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AFP via Getty Images)
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Understandably, the remarks caused a great deal of hurt among the royals, however they themselves were also not blameless and in turn managed to hurt Harry too, through their actions in recent years, reports The Sunday Times.
In particular, even before Harry’s memoir was released, the royal family had deeply wounded the Duke following the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II on September 8 2022. Following her tragic passing, Charles made the decision to stop Harry from wearing his military uniform during the mourning period — except for the vigil at Westminster Hall with his cousins two days before the funeral.
This decision was made as he argued that Harry was “no longer a working royal” after stepping back from royal duties in 2020 to pursue a quieter life in America with his wife Meghan Markle and young family. The pain was further compounded when his Blues and Royals uniform later arrived with his grandmother’s “ER” initials stripped from the shoulder, leaving him “devastated.”
Prince Harry at the late Queen’s funeral almost two years ago (
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Getty Images)
In a further blow, the Sussexes also understood that they would be at Buckingham Palace on the eve of the funeral alongside the rest of their loved ones, while Charles and Camilla hosted a reception for foreign heads of state. However this soon emerged to be incorrect, as their invitations were “rescinded” shortly after being sent, when it was deemed only “working members of the royal family” would be permitted to attend.
This was particularly brutal for Harry, as he later missed an important family briefing about the upcoming funeral which had taken place at the dinner.
A friend of the royal added: “The King made some really bad decisions — it was conveyed that he didn’t want them there. For f***’s sake, this was a global reception for his grandmother, and as her grandson, he should have been there.
“There was a funeral briefing for the whole family at the palace just before the reception, which would have meant Harry and Meghan going to the briefing then having to leave the palace as all the guests were arriving and other family members were staying. So in the end, they didn’t go. The briefing notes didn’t arrive [via email] for them until around 11pm.”
This decision deeply wounded the Prince, and added further strain to his already fractured relationship.
