Prince Harry and King Charles III have reached such a difficult point in their feud that the monarch won’t even keep his son informed on his health. Oof.
As Perezcious readers know, the royal family has been battling it out for years ever since Harry and Meghan Markle walked away from their working roles in 2020. In a new ITV documentary, Harry claimed a “central piece” of the “rift” was caused by his fight against the tabloids — and it turns out his fight for safety is also a big issue.
According to People sources on Wednesday, the 39-year-old was hoping to sit down with his father in May, when he was in town for the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games (a ceremony his entire fam snubbed). Charles avoided getting together with his youngest son, claiming he was too busy. As it turns out, Harry reportedly wanted to discuss his ongoing push for security in the country, which he believes the 75-year-old has the power to reinstate (though a palace source told the outlet that theory is “wholly incorrect.”) Either way, Charles is giving Harry the complete SILENT TREATMENT!
Related: Prince William ‘Dumped’ Princess Catherine Over A 30-Minute Phone Call
Ever since their last meeting in February, when the Spare author rushed to his home country to see Charles after his cancer diagnosis (a brief meeting the sources claimed was positive but many have said was a downright disaster), Charles has stopped communicating with Prince Haz. A friend of the Archewell founders said His Majesty has ignored Harry’s calls and letters, saying:
“He gets ‘unavailable right now.’ His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”
Jeez.
His father is battling cancer and nobody will tell Harry how he’s doing? They probably don’t have any trust in him, worried he might spill the tea to the public… but damn. That seems really heartless! This man’s already lost one parent, the least they could do is keep him informed. So sad.
While Harry is obviously frustrated over this lack of communication, his attention remains on making sure his family is safe. With legitimate risks to his wife and their kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet‘s safety, he’s repeatedly asked for his father’s help, a royal insider noted:
“Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father.”
Another source chimed in:
“Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs.”
As Perezcious readers know, in the doc Tabloids on Trial, the activist minced no words when describing his fear for his loved ones, noting all it would take is “one lone actor” to do something rash and put his family and team in danger. Despite his “genuine concerns,” the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) has been unwilling to grant him taxpayer-funded police protection while in the country. They won’t even let him pay for it himself.
But given Charles’ high status, Harry feels like his dad could intervene and help get his security granted. But rather than try to help, his friend said this debate has made Charles shift from being frustrated to reverting to “complete silence.” Insiders close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex believe Charles may be worried about once again getting overshadowed by another ex-royal, as he was when Princess Diana left royal life, they explained:
“Charles’ fear is a repeat of the past. When his wife divorced the institution, she took the headlines, overshadowed his work and became a global superstar. Seeing his son leave with his wife was not part of the plan.”
But as Harry has argued in the past, it was never his desire to leave altogether. He was given no choice. And regardless, isn’t Charles’ silent treatment just prolonging this rift and creating more headlines that overshadow his work as monarch?? Just saying…
According to sources, safety’s always been a major reason why the Sussexes ultimately walked away from the royal family (that and to protect the Suits alum’s mental health). Their friend said they “didn’t feel they had a choice,” elaborating:
“The only option was to leave — for their sanity. I do think they thought if they got out of this bubble, there would be less focus on them.”
But here’s what’s really shady! After meeting with family members at Sandringham Summit in January 2020 to discuss his life as a non-working royal, Harry left the meeting with the reassurance that he’d have security as they made the transition. In fact, court documents proved Queen Elizabeth II called it “imperative” for the Sussexes to have “effective security” after their exit. And yet, just weeks later, Harry was stripped of his police protection! The royal insider shared:
“The Queen made it clear that effective security was necessary due to the threats against them, but somewhere along the line there was interference.”
The decision was ultimately made by RAVEC (whose discussion on security could impact how the Sussexes are dealt with internationally, as other countries would likely follow their example). The group includes members of the Royal Household, such as the King’s staff but not Charles himself. A government spokesperson told the outlet that they provide “rigorous and proportionate” security and do not disclose details “as doing so could compromise their integrity and affect individuals’ security.”
But Harry, sadly, thinks the only reason he hasn’t been given his security back is because of his father, despite denials from the palace. His team noted that his family’s annual threat assessment hasn’t been updated by the government since 2019 — despite them being in some of the most danger!
Neil Basu, a former head of counterterrorism for the Metropolitan Police, has claimed that the actress has faced serious threats while in the UK, calling Harry and Meghan among the highest threat assessments within the royal family. Per the outlet, several people have even been arrested and imprisoned for making threats against the couple! So, Harry’s not making this up! Basu added:
“Harry’s military service, his global recognition and his marriage to a mixed-race woman all contribute to his high threat level.”
Plus, just ’cause he walked away from a job doesn’t mean he’s walked away from any of the risk he was born into (he’s still fifth in line to the throne, after all), a source pointed out:
“Working royal or not, this is the King’s son.”
So true!
The main reason the couple decided to settle down in California was so they could have private armed security, people in their close circle noted. They added that the couple gets daily social media threats and potential home intrusions, and have faced harrowing incidents like the 2023 NYC paparazzi chase.
Even Joe Funk, senior vice president of Torchstone Global Security — who oversees their private security in the US — called out the UK for being aware of the danger and doing little about it, adding:
“The U.K. government acknowledges numerous threats against them, but we are not privy to specific details due to lack of cooperation.”
As is the case with any influential individual, the security risk extends far beyond just Harry and Meg or their children — their team is also potentially in harm’s way, which makes the lack of security nerve-wracking for them all. A former employee of the Archewell Foundation shared:
“The staff is concerned when they travel with them.”
We get why they’d be worried. Harry feels the threat risk is SO high in the UK that he will no longer allow his wife and children to visit with him. That says a lot!
You’d think that all of this would bother the royal family, but they are not letting up their anger when it comes to the Sussexes speaking out about The Firm — something they’ve only done to maintain a steady stream of income to pay for all their security needs after getting cut off. While some sources argued that Harry’s book and interviews have compromised the family’s trust in him, others are hitting back, insisting he never would have spoken out if he had proper security. And if the issue is resolved, his friend claimed, “it’s ‘swords down.’”
So, as we pointed out, Charles — and Prince William, who seems to be siding with the patriarch — giving Harry the silent treatment just seems to be making this all worse! While it may be hard for the family to trust anything Harry says at this point, his pal urged that nothing “would give [Harry] more happiness than being able to rekindle his bond with his father.” The friend ultimately concluded:
“You can’t undo bloodlines. He’s not asking his dad for a nicer house or nicer cars. He’s asking because of the reality of the situation. He is at risk.”
All of this is terrible on its own, but when you put this into the context of Charles’ health crisis, it’s even more heartbreaking. We’d hate to see them leave off on such a bad note when some simple communication could go a long way…
