Prince Harry accused the Queen Consort, Camilla, of leaking a private conversation between William, Camilla and himself to the media.
Visitors to Clarence House would never guess that the King is barely on speaking terms with one of his “darling boys”.
Photographs of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, continue to adorn the King and Queen’s private quarters, alongside other cherished images from the royal family album.
“Under the circumstances, you might think that the pictures would be moved, but they’ve still got pride of place,” confirms a guest at a recent royal gathering. “To all outward appearances, they still seem to be a very happy family.”
Yet with both the King and the Prince of Wales having failed to officially acknowledge the recent birthdays of Archie, who turned four on Coronation Day in May, and Lilibet, who celebrated her second birthday on June 4, royal relations remain at an all-time low.
Some of the frostiness between father and younger son seemed to have thawed in the lead-up to the Coronation, with one well-placed insider describing a newfound spirit of “genuine co-operation” between Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes as Prince Harry planned his attendance at the historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey.
But when he finally landed in London for what he had acknowledged was the “biggest day” of his father’s life, he had no contact with the King, or the Prince of Wales, leaving less than 48 hours after he’d arrived. He was also snubbed by both father and brother when he returned to Britain to attend the High Court in March and again earlier this month, as part of his ongoing war against the media, and it appears the monarch, heir and spare have reached a stalemate.
A court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Prince Harry being cross examined by Andrew Green KC, as he gives evidence against publisher Mirror Group Newspapers. Photo / AP
Having pulled off a successful Coronation and even managed to persuade the public to accept “Queen Camilla”, there is only one more pressing conundrum for the Firm to grapple with: how to solve a problem like Prince Harry?
Yet while the Sussexes may be impatient for an apology, their royal relatives appear in no hurry whatsoever to bury the hatchet.
The emergence of a letter written by Meghan to the King, expressing her concerns about unconscious bias in the Royal family, seems to have put paid to any imminent hope of reconciliation.
As the Daily Telegraph reported in April, the correspondence was sent in the wake of the March 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, in which the Duchess alleged that a member of the Royal family had speculated about the colour of her unborn son’s skin.
Sources close to Meghan say she feels that she has not received a satisfactory response to her concerns, which is one of the reasons why she did not attend the Coronation.
The King, meanwhile, remains “sad” and “disappointed” that his son and daughter-in-law felt the need to make such high-profile and damaging allegations in the first place. It is understood that Meghan’s letter was sent in reply to one from the King, believed to be the only senior member of the family to make contact with the Duchess after the interview.
Harry and Meghan during their explosive sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey. Photo / AP
According to one source, the royals were “only just coming to terms with the Oprah interview” when the publication of Spare, Harry’s tell-all autobiography, in January, “took everything right back to square one”.
“There’s a sense of high irritation about everything they’ve done. The Netflix documentary was viewed as largely anodyne and nothing much to worry about – it’s the book that, for the family, has really cemented the view that all Harry ever seems to want to do is air his unhappiness.”
Referring to Harry’s suggestion that “there’s enough for another book”, but that he “cut the memoir in half to spare my family”, the insider added, “There’s not a lot of trust left to allow the family to maintain a good and open relationship. How do you speak openly without it ending up in volume two?” Or, indeed, Meghan’s memoirs, when the time inevitably comes. If the Duchess is minded to finally name the royal “racist”, then all hell will likely break loose again.
For the couple’s part, they are sticking to the narrative that the press is in cahoots with a palace that constantly briefs against them – which is why there was no official “recollections may vary”-style statement in response to Spare.
Copies of Prince Harry's book called "Spare", released in January. Photo / AP
As one former aide explained: “One of the reasons you haven’t heard a peep from the King or the Prince of Wales about this lately is because the couple in California are incredibly sensitive about briefing to the media. They hate it. So, people at the palace are having to be punctilious in refusing to speak in any way about the relationship.” An irony, perhaps, when you consider just how many beans have been spilt by the Sussexes about their nearest and dearest – but it seems one royal’s briefing is another royal’s “truth”.
The Queen has repeatedly been singled out by Harry, 38, as someone he alleges has engaged in “briefings, leakings and plantings”, a claim that can hardly have helped heal the divisions.
“I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar,” he wrote, citing an instance when Camilla allegedly leaked one of her early conversations with William. (This newspaper subsequently reported that it was, in fact, Camilla’s former assistant who leaked the conversation and that she was subsequently let go.)
Harry described his “wicked stepmother” as “dangerous” and a “villain” who left “bodies in the street” in Spare. Photo / Getty Images
Referring to an incident in 2019, when William was “seething” because “Pa and Camilla’s people had planted a story or stories about him, and Kate, and the kids”, Harry added, “Give Pa and Camilla an inch, they take a mile.”
And what of Camilla’s reaction? Royal watchers could have been forgiven for thinking that the Queen was getting her own back on Tuesday when she appeared at Royal Ascot dressed in Dior – just as the French fashion house was distancing itself from reports of Meghan becoming a “brand ambassador”. Yet while there is no doubt that the Queen was upset by Spare, friends insist she isn’t the type to bear grudges.
In April, the Marchioness of Lansdowne, 68, a deputy lieutenant of Wiltshire and the Queen’s companion, remarked: “Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts. But she doesn’t let it get to her. Her philosophy is always, ‘Don’t make a thing of it and it will settle down – least said, soonest mended.’”
One former employee added: “If you think of all the years when she nearly had a bread roll thrown at her – how did she respond throughout that period? She was just really stoic. Her most admirable quality is certainly her sense of humour.”
Camilla donning Dior at the Royal Ascot Races. Photo / Getty Images
With the Duke and Duchess having no reason to return to the UK (sources close to Harry say he is unlikely to make another High Court appearance any time soon), there is no impetus to initiate peace talks.
“In the run-up to the Queen’s death and the Coronation, there had to be an institutional response,” explained one insider. “But with no major royal events on the horizon, the Sussexes are no longer the subject of strategy meetings.”
One school of thought is that the King will eventually start the ball rolling again. “Most parents ultimately love their children a tremendous amount, and reconciling with them is something they want, although not necessarily at any cost,” said a source. But the dynamic has shifted since Charles became King. “A deference is suddenly introduced that is much more than a conventional father-son relationship,” explained one source. “You’re effectively disrespecting not just a person, but a sovereign. The monarch’s need to protect the institution as its only head figure makes everything more challenging.”
It seems unlikely that a white flag will be raised without William’s approval, however, and the Prince and Princess of Wales appear determined to play the long game.
The Waleses are very much in “keep calm and carry on” mode. Photo / AP
“It’s a 1000-year-old institution and they have long horizons,” said one source. “It’s a case of ‘Let the work speak for itself.’ The working family is working hard and it is working. The birthday parade was well received and no one seems to be missing the Sussexes on the Buckingham Palace balcony.”
While William and Kate, both 41, acknowledge that the impasse will eventually have to end, they believe that there are more pressing issues that remain outstanding, not least the future of the Duke of York. The couple, who are currently living in Adelaide Cottage, on the Windsor estate, have earmarked Prince Andrew’s much larger mansion, Royal Lodge, as a future family home – but the Duke is refusing to budge, despite reportedly receiving his marching orders from the King. “Having no contact seems to be the right answer for everybody right now,” said one insider. “At the height of it, it was all-consuming – and that’s not healthy for anyone.”
Determined “not to be sucked back into the psychodrama”, the Waleses are very much in “keep calm and carry on” mode. “You need a level of distance in order to be detached and do your job. In that respect, the Waleses are a bit like Queen Elizabeth II – they actively avoid conflict. If you avoid the drama, it allows you to be stoic.
“The Princess is always very good on these things. Ultimately, it’s a relationship that’s probably worth saving, but it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
It perhaps also helps that there is “less anger than there was”. “It’s like a form of grief,” added the source. “There’s anger at what happened, but sadness at what could have been.”
When Harry and Meghan were still working royals, the relationship between the Sussexes and the Cambridges, as they were then known, was quite competitive, as both couples jostled for column inches.
But with the Duke and Duchess’s approval ratings continuing to tank as they have attracted growing amounts of negative publicity – both here and across the pond – the Waleses’ non-engagement policy appears to have paid off.
Kate William, Harry and Meghan walk to meet members of the public at Windsor Castle, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2022. Photo / AP
The House of Windsor could have faced an existential crisis as a result of all the Sussexes’ revelations and yet numerous surveys suggest that it has harmed Harry and Meghan more than the royals. This week, a poll by YouGov found that the Duchess’s favourability had fallen to a record low of -47. Sixty-eight per cent of British adults now have a negative view of Meghan, with just 21 per cent holding a positive view. While Harry’s popularity has also fallen, to -36, the monarchy’s rating has improved to +25, compared with before the Coronation, when it was +19. Three-quarters of Britons now hold a positive view of the heir to the throne, while Kate has also seen her net favourability rise by five points following the Coronation.
