As Prince Harry continues his legal fight for security in his home country, his relationship with his father, who is battling cancer, is more distant than ever.
“Their relationship is… deeply strained and beyond distant, way worse when Harry was placed three rows back at his father’s coronation,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich claimed to Fox News Digital.
“It has been exacerbated by Prince Harry’s… public legal battle regarding security,” she shared. “King Charles has been intentionally avoiding Harry to prevent not only legal entanglement but further hurt and drama. This is being driven also by those who are hired to protect King Charles from his courtiers, who unanimously see Harry as despicable. Reconciliation is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.”
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“With Prince William, it’s just as bad,” Fordwich claimed. “William reportedly has not responded to Harry’s calls or messages.”
Fordwich’s claims came shortly after sources close to Harry, 40, spoke to People magazine for a new cover story. In it, friends claimed that during each of Harry’s last three visits to the U.K., Charles had been unavailable, including this month. Harry’s latest court date in London was long scheduled and known ahead of the king’s state visit to Italy.
Insiders also revealed that Harry remains in the dark about his father’s current condition and prognosis. The monarch, 76, was diagnosed with cancer last year.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
Harry made a rare appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice last week for a two-day hearing over the government-funded security he lost in February 2020 after he stepped down as a senior royal.
A High Court judge ruled last year that a government panel’s decision to provide “bespoke” security for the prince on an as-needed basis was not unlawful, irrational or unjustified. But attorney Shaheed Fatima argued that a group that evaluated Harry’s security needs failed to follow its own process and perform a risk management assessment.
According to People magazine, the lengthy legal battle has contributed to ongoing tensions between Harry and his father. They noted Harry feels that his father, who serves as the ceremonial head of state, could easily intervene and have his security reinstated. However, the palace has consistently denied this.
The outlet reported that the last time father and son had a face-to-face meeting was in February 2024, shortly after the palace publicly revealed the monarch’s cancer diagnosis. Queen Camilla was present for that 30-minute exchange.
Since then, the outlet noted there have been no private father-and-son conversations. Sources close to Harry also claimed that his letters and calls to his father continue to go unanswered. Things have reportedly gotten so bad that when Charles was hospitalized on March 27 related to complications from his treatment, Harry learned about it through the media.
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“As long as litigious, paranoid, warring Prince Harry keeps fighting with the world, the royal family, and especially King Charles, will keep a suitable distance from him,” claimed British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard.
“… This is not a positive situation for anyone, least of all King Charles, who is embarrassed and tired of his younger son’s antics,” Chard claimed. “King Charles refuses to be caught up in the probable legal jeopardy that could play out if he shared any communication with Prince Harry… When will Harry realize that King Charles cannot and will not aid his requests?”
“Sadly, there are also huge trust issues,” Chard shared. “The royal family will not release personal information to Prince Harry for fear of him regurgitating the information to the media. That’s why Prince Harry is in the dark regarding his father’s health status.”
“Prince Harry has a grudge to bear and thinks nothing of the upset he causes the royal family,” she insisted. “He airs his grievances publicly. The dark cloud of negativity engulfing the revered family name… This serves only to alienate him from his father, family and the public.”
Harry and his wife stepped back as senior royals in 2020 because they didn’t feel they were “being protected by the institution,” his lawyer said.
After doing so, a Home Office committee ruled there was “no basis for publicly funded security support for the duke and duchess within Great Britain.”
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Harry claimed he and his family are endangered when visiting his homeland because of hostility aimed at him and wife Meghan Markle on social media and through relentless hounding by news media.
Since he lost his government-sponsored protection, Harry has faced at least two serious security threats, his lawyer said in court papers. Al-Qaida had published a document that said Harry’s assassination would please Muslims, and he and his wife were involved in a dangerous pursuit by paparazzi in New York.
He lost a related court case in which he sought permission to privately pay for a police detail when in the U.K. A judge denied that offer after a government lawyer argued officers shouldn’t be used as “private bodyguards for the wealthy.”
Sources close to Harry told People the prince believes Charles has been deliberately keeping his distance. Palace sources claimed to the outlet that peace talks aren’t happening anytime soon.
“I don’t think there is any rapprochement,” a palace insider told the outlet about the king and his son. “Nothing has changed.”
Another source with close palace ties told the outlet that “things have been febrile for a while.”
“Personally… the king should remember that Britain still expects to have a united royal family to promote the country to the world, not a version of ‘The Crown,’ a soap opera,” royal expert Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital. “… It is in my opinion time for those at Buckingham Palace to swallow their pride, put aside their egos and realize that Harry and Meghan could be a huge asset to Britain. Treat them as family, not foes.”
Sources told People that Harry is still hoping for a reconciliation with his father. He also wants his two young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to connect with their British roots. They are currently being raised in California. He’s eager for his children to not only experience their heritage in the U.K. but also build relationships with extended family.
A written decision about the hearing is expected later. People reported that Harry had been shaken by some of the information that had emerged from the proceedings.
“People would be shocked by what’s being held back,” Harry told the outlet.
A source close to Harry’s legal team told the outlet that they’re “cautiously optimistic” about the outcome. Still, Harry is determined to protect his family.
“He feels very strongly this is something he must fight for,” a source told the outlet.
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Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and author of “My Mother and I,” previously told Fox News Digital there’s good reason why Charles doesn’t want to get involved with Harry’s legal woes.
“The king is in a position where the security and who gets the security is decided by the government, and the government is not the monarch,” said Seward.
“When Charles was Prince Charles, he could do more, but as monarch, he has to be very careful,” said Seward. “He cannot get involved with government policy. Therefore, probably the easiest way out is to let somebody else deal with Harry.”
“I am sure that somebody talks to Harry, it just may not be his father,” Seward shared. “And in a way, that’s probably because his father just doesn’t want to get involved. He hasn’t got time, he hasn’t got the inclination, and he probably hasn’t got the energy for what would be a potentially difficult conversation.”
Buckingham Palace previously told Fox News Digital it wouldn’t comment on security matters.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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