Stay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletterStay ahead of the trend in fashion and beyond with our free weekly Lifestyle Edit newsletter
“Peace talks” between King Charles III and his son Prince Harry are not going to happen as hoped, according to royal sources.
Contrary to what many have speculated, reconciliation is not on the agenda for September, according to sources who spoke to The Daily Beast. The sources allege that there will be no summit at Balmoral nor a reunion with Queen Camilla or the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It was initially reported that the father-son duo would make time to meet on 17 September, which would coincide with the end of Harry’s Invictus Games trip to Dusseldorf, Germany and the King’s return to London from Balmoral.
“King Charles is due to return to London from Balmoral in the middle of September, which ties in with the end of Harry’s Invictus Games trip to Dusseldorf,” a source told OK! Magazine. “The King has a rescheduled official visit to France on 20 September, so [he] has a few days to spare in London to meet with his son. Staff are trying to fine-tune the details as we speak.”
However, the sources allegedly “scoffed” at reports that the King and his youngest son will reunite and clear the air on 17 September, but not for reasons that indicate a lack of wanting peace. Since King Charles is expected to make an important state visit to France on 20 September, Buckingham Palace insiders have dismissed the notion of any physical meeting occurring.
Although the King is reportedly open to a dialogue with the Duke of Sussex, there are reports that there is “no chance” of his heir Prince William agreeing to any sort of discussion. A friend of Prince William explained to the outlet: “He feels utterly betrayed by what Harry wrote about him in the book [Spare] and said about him on Netflix.”
“They were very close growing up so it has been very painful for William,” the source continued. “But ultimately what can he do? Just look at Spare. It’s literally William’s worst nightmare. It is a total violation of his privacy.
“On top of that, Harry has criticised Kate and the way he is bringing up his children.”
The source called the situation “very sad” and said that it’s “completely understandable” that William is still “disgusted” by the actions of his brother.
The last time the three of them convened was after Prince Phillip’s funeral in Windsor, as described in the opening scene of Prince Harry’s explosive memoir Spare. The “secret meeting” was nothing short of contentious.
Harry had flown in to “talk about the state of things” with his brother and father, but the talk soon devolved into a fight between the two brothers, according to the duke. He alleged that his older brother, William, had shown up to the meeting “ready for a fight”. At the time, Charles was forced to play peacemaker between the rival siblings, saying: “Please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery.”
As the years have gone by and Harry has continued to take swipes at the monarchy, Charles has been less lenient with Harry, recently making the move to remove his “HRH” honorific from the royal website.
However, Omid Scobie, a journalist, and royal biographer who has worked closely with the Sussexes, revealed in a pre-coronation interview in May with This Morning that, although Spare was a point of contention between Harry and his family, it did not mean that they were not in communication.
“I don’t think people know there has been a somewhat regular pattern of conversation between him and his father since the release of that book.” Scobie continued to elaborate: “Now, have they discussed the details and the points that he wanted to go into? From what I hear, no. But he has had contact with his dad.”
The Independent has contacted Buckingham Palace and a representative for the Sussexes for comment.