King Charles and Prince Harry’s strained relationship has taken step backwards, source says

A source has claimed Prince Harry and King Charles' relationship has taken a sour turn again. Photo / Getty Images

An inside source has claimed that, despite reports suggesting Prince Harry, and King Charles’ relationship is on the mend, the 75-year-old monarch no longer answers calls from his California-based son.

News of an estrangement between the pair first made headlines in 2020 when Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced they were resigning from their duties as senior royals and relocating to America.

The couple stated they planned to raise their son, Prince Archie, 5, out of the spotlight and would “work to become financially independent”. The following year, they welcomed their daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3.

Harry and Meghan are raising their two children in California. Photo / Netflix

Since moving, the pair have become increasingly estranged from the royal family and launched countless attacks on them, including Harry calling Queen Camilla “dangerous” in his memoir, Spare, and claiming his brother, Prince William, physically attacked him.

Any meetings they have had with Harry’s family appear to have been brief, like the prince’s 28-hour trip for his father’s coronation last year and the 30-minute meeting in February with Charles following news of the King’s cancer diagnosis.

While the meeting was said to be positive and recent reports have claimed Harry and his father were making big steps in mending their relationship, including news Charles is “willing to find a resolution” with Harry, a source has now insisted the opposite.

Harry and Meghan resigned from royal duties in 2020. Photo / Getty Images

Speaking to People magazine, the source has insisted that Harry’s continuous legal battles against UK tabloids and fight to obtain police security during his trips to his homeland in order to protect his wife and their children, has resulted in a deep estrangement from his father.

“He gets ‘unavailable right now’,” a friend of the prince told the news outlet. “His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.”

Another source claimed the prince has repeatedly been asking his father for help in regards to his legal battles but that his calls and letters are allegedly being ignored.

“Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father,” the source said. A third added: “Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs.”

Harry recently told ITV in their Tabloids on Trial documentary that he will not allow his family to visit the UK at the moment as he believes it is too unsafe.

“It’s still dangerous, and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read,” he said. “And whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”

The prince is currently appealing a decision made by the British government in April which prevents him from paying for police protection detail when he visits his home country.

NEW: In tonight’s ITV documentary on hacking, Prince Harry told us his granny, the late Queen Elizabeth, supported his legal battle with the tabloids.
‘We had many conversations before she passed. This is very much something that she supported. She knew how much this meant to me.… pic.twitter.com/cCwoOlj4aR

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) July 25, 2024

It comes after a source told Page Six that while Charles and Harry’s relationship is strained, the King could fix it by stepping in to help Harry with his fight for security.

“King Charles can give Harry the security clearance he wants so desperately. As the monarch, he is the ultimate decision-maker. That would be how father and son can reconcile,” they said.

Harry told ITV his family’s unwillingness to join him in his fight against the news outlets is a “central piece” to his estrangement.

“I think that’s certainly a central piece to it,” he said. Adding: “But that’s a hard question to answer, because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”