King Charles is reportedly at “the end of his tether” and seeking to change tactics when it comes to his youngest son Prince Harry following years of estrangement between the two.
Harry’s relationship with his father has been extremely strained since he and his wife Meghan Markle departed from official royal duties in 2020.
Since then the pair have repeatedly taken aim at the Royal Family, with Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir ‘Spare’ lifting the lid on his bad blood with the institution.
After reaching “the end of his tether” in his attempts to reconcile with his estranged son, King Charles now plans to “take a harder line”, royal author Tom Quinn told The Mirror.
“Charles feels he has made huge effort to repair his relationship with his son, but that Harry refuses to give an inch. With that in mind Charles is changing his tactics,” he said.
“The new plan is to take a harder line with Harry; a move from good cop to bad cop, but palace insiders agree that Charles is at the end of his tether.”
The author said the King wants to be reconciled with his son, but “nothing he does seems to work”.
“One underlying problem is that Harry was never really that close to his father as a child – looked after by staff and shunted between Diana and Charles, Harry has always looked lost and forgotten and it’s too late now for his father to do anything about it,” he said.
It comes after the Prince’s trip to the UK earlier this month for the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, during which he had hoped to meet up with his father.
King Charles was forced to rebuff his son’s request of a reunion due to a packed schedule of royal commitments, despite initial claims he had simply snubbed Harry.
The Duke of Sussex was later accused of having a “typical sook” after it emerged he declined an invitation to stay at a royal residence while in London, opting to use a hotel instead.
According to The Telegraph, the Prince turned down the offer due to “security concerns” as he was not provided with taxpayer-funded personal security and would be staying in a “visible location with public entrance and exit points”.
Writer and broadcaster Esther Krakue told Sky News Australia she believed Prince Harry’s decision was questionable.
“We know that Prince Harry is insistent on staying in hotels when it comes to the UK because he believes he can move in and out anonymously and that allows for some better levels of protection,” she said.
“But it does beg the question as to why he chose to refuse staying at a royal residence.
“If he stayed at St James’ Palace for example, he would have been right next to Clarence House, and he would have been able to see the King, even if briefly.”
It has also been reported Prince Harry was upset at this father declining the invitation to meet with him, with Mr Quinn telling the Mirror the Prince found the rejection “painful”.
“He was deeply shocked at his father’s blunt refusal to see him even for a moment,” the author said.
“This time the rejection was particularly painful because it was so public – Harry may have issued a statement saying he completely understood why his father didn’t have time to see him, but everyone knows the real reason had nothing to do with busy schedules,” he said.