King Charles III: Prince Harry suggested his relationship with his father is tense, but it doesn't appear Charles has shut his son out e...
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King Charles III: Prince Harry suggested his relationship with his father is tense, but it doesn't appear Charles has shut his son out entirely.
King Charles III has never publicly addressed reports of a rift between himself and Prince Harry – but Harry has several times.
During his and Meghan's 2021 bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry said Charles stopped taking his calls before the royal couple stepped back from royal duties. He also told Winfrey that Charles cut him off financially during the summer of 2020.
However, Charles and Harry have reunited a handful of times since the Sussex's departure to California, including at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral in September 2022. Despite the reunion, Charles remained mum about his and his son's current relationship. Instead, Charles has acknowledged his son in more subtle ways.
In his first speech as king, Charles said he wanted to "express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas." Charles reportedly got emotional while meeting his granddaughter and seeing his grandson, Lilibet, and Archie, in June 2022.
Harry said he and Charles had a disagreement in January 2020 during an episode of his Netflix docuseries.
In the 2022 Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan," Harry said members of the British royal family – including Charles – came together for a January 2020 meeting at Sandringham House to discuss his and Meghan's desire to have their own jobs, but work in support of the monarchy. Just days earlier, Harry and Meghan announced their intention to step back from royal duties.
"It became very clear very quickly that that goal was not up for discussion or debate," Harry said in the docuseries. "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that simply weren't true and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in."
Additionally, Harry and Meghan are expected to be invited to Charles' coronation in May 2023 despite the docuseries.
And in his recently released memoir, "Spare," Harry wrote that Charles didn't want to pay for Meghan to become a full-time royal.
Harry wrote that Charles told him there wasn't enough money to support him and Meghan as full-time royals before their wedding, in "Spare."
"I can't pay for anyone else. I'm already having to pay for your brother and Catherine," Charles said, according to Harry.
Harry, however, suggested that Charles was more concerned about Meghan taking the limelight than the money.
William, Prince of Wales: Reports of tension between William and Harry emerged in 2018.
William and Harry's relationship emerged as tumultuous in the last several years, with publications reporting a strain between the two brothers and their families in 2018.
William and Kate Middleton – now the Princess of Wales – had lived alongside Harry and Meghan at Kensington Palace since May 2018, following the latter couple's wedding. However, Harry and Meghan announce they would move out of Kensington Palace and into Frogmore Cottage in November 2018. In March 2019, Harry and Meghan announced they were splitting their royal office from William and Kate.
"Two years ago the idea of Harry leaving Kensington Palace was unthinkable but a lot has changed," a royal source added in a 2018 Vanity Fair report. "He wants to be his own person, not in William's shadow."
William reportedly cut contact with Harry following the release of Netflix's docuseries.
Reports of tension continued into June 2019, when Kensington Palace confirmed that Harry and Meghan were resigning from The Royal Foundation – a charity founded by the brothers in 2009 – so the couple could start a separate charity. After months of media speculation, Harry publicly confirmed the rift rumors during the October 2019 ITV documentary, "Harry and Meghan: An African Journey."
Most recently, The Sunday Times' royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah said William cut all contact with Harry following claims made in "Harry & Meghan." Harry claimed that William's royal office traded stories about him and Meghan with the press. Among other claims, Harry said the tense January 2020 meeting between royal family members at Sandringham House drove a "wedge" between him and William.
In episode six of the series, Harry suggested his relationship with William was also tense in 2021 regarding Jason Knauf, a former communications secretary for the Sussexes who still works for William. Knauf has been involved in reports and lawsuits against Meghan, including voluntarily providing a witness statement in the legal battle between her and the Mail on Sunday.
"Sadly, there's just no way he could have done that without the authority of his bosses," the Sussex's attorney said, suggesting Knauf had William's approval to go to the court.
In "Spare," Harry referred to William as his "beloved brother" and "archnemesis."
Harry reflected on his past and present relationship in the memoir, writing, "In some ways he was my mirror, in some ways he was my opposite. My beloved brother, my arch nemesis, how had that happened?"
Harry also wrote that William was fairly "discouraging" of his relationship with Meghan and told Harry not to propose "too fast." He also claimed William wanted to accompany him to his therapy sessions to ensure he wasn't being "brainwashed."
Camilla, Queen Consort: Camilla gave a subtle nod to Harry during a royal engagement but has otherwise remained silent.
Like her husband, Camilla, the Queen Consort, hasn't publicly commented on the ongoing tensions between the Sussexes and the royal family. However, royal biographer and author Angela Levin told Fox News Digital in October 2022 that Camilla was "very upset" for Charles amid the reported rift.
During an interview on "60 Minutes," Harry said Camilla was "dangerous" due to her relationship with the British press.
"She was the villain. She was the third person in the marriage. She needed to rehabilitate her image," Harry told Anderson Cooper, referring to Camilla's publicized affair with Charles.
"That made her dangerous because of the connections that she was forging with the British press," Harry added. "And there was open willingness on both sides to trade for information."
Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales: Kate has been spotted with Harry and Prince William since the rift flared but has not publicly commented.
Kate, like other senior royal members, has avoided speaking out on the family fissure but has remained steadfast by her husband's side.
Following Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's funeral in April 2021, footage captured by NBC showed Harry and William walking alongside Kate. It was the first time the pair spoke in public since Harry and Meghan's bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview. In September 2022, Kate joined her husband and the Sussex family for a public reunion at Windsor Castle following Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Harry shared several claims about Kate in his memoir, including that he felt as if he was losing his brother after William married Kate in April 2011. He also claimed Kate and William complained about their issues with the Sussexes to Charles and Camilla. "Spare" also offered a glimpse at the tension between Meghan and Kate, claiming Kate was upset with Meghan for saying she had "baby brain" while pregnant.
Kate has not formally responded to the claims.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie: Royal experts suggest that Harry's relationships with his cousins are in better shape.
Much of the tabloid speculation about the royal rift focused on the "Fab Four," but Harry's cousins have also witnessed the fallout. Royal commentators like Richard Fitzwilliams have said that the Sussexes have a closer relationship with their cousins at the moment.
Fitzwilliams told Express in July 2022 that Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie – daughters of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah Ferguson – have "good relations" with the Sussexes.
"I suspect the York sisters' good relations with Harry and Meghan are very beneficial to the monarchy," he said, adding that the sisters can provide "healing."
"It is perhaps a relief that we don't know any details, but the healing of rifts is best done quietly," Fitzwilliams added.
Peter Philips, Zara Tindall, and Mike Tindall: Peter and Zara played subtle roles in the rift, while Mike had to dodge a disparaging conversation about Harry.
Peter Phillips – eldest son of Anne, Princess Royal – has publicly remained on the fringes of the rift but made an appearance during Prince Philip's 2021 funeral. Days before the funeral, Buckingham Palace confirmed that Peter would walk between William and Harry during the procession amid media speculation about the brothers' spat.
"This is a funeral and we are not going to be drawn into perceptions of drama," a statement said.
It appeared Anne's daughter Zara Tindall might have played a similar role as Peter, when she shared a car with Harry following a 15-minute vigil for the late Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall in September 2022. Mail Online reported that month that the Sussexes are close with Zara and her husband, Mike Tindall.
While none of the cousins have addressed the rift, Mike dodged a question about Harry during a December 2022 episode of his podcast.
