A Timeline Of Prince Harry And King Charles III's Years-Long Feud
The royal family drama just never seems to end. Between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's not-so-graceful royal exit and Harry's bombshell revelations about the monarchy since his departure, the royal tea has been piping hot the past couple of years. More recently, the spotlight has once again been on Prince Harry and King Charles III's relationship, after the latter was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer. Harry jetted to the U.K. to see his father, but it appears the chances of Harry returning to the royal fold remain slim.
Harry has had a complicated relationship with his father since leaving the monarchy — not that his relationship with Charles was ever perfect anyway. After Charles and Princess Diana's marriage ended because of Charles' affair with Camilla, Queen Consort, Harry and Prince William found themselves hopping between households.
"There was the point where our parents split and ... we never saw our mother enough or we never saw our father enough," Harry said during an interview for the documentary, "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy" (via Closer Weekly). If royal biographer Penny Junor is to be believed, Harry and Charles were never quite as close as one would expect. "Charles has always been quite a remote figure," Junor told the Daily Beast. Since Harry's departure from the institution, his relationship with his father has been more strained than ever, and as royal pundits know well, the tea is still hot.
2020: Prince Harry and King Charles had a fight over Harry leaving the royal fold
While one can argue that Prince Harry and King Charles III's relationship first went awry when Charles had been unfaithful to his mother, their actual feud seems to have started when Harry announced his plans to step back from his royal duties. The palace refused to let Harry become a part-time royal, so to speak, and an argument ensued.
While Prince Harry and King Charles have plenty in common, the two couldn't see eye to eye on Harry's decision to move overseas with his wife, Meghan Markle. In the "Harry & Meghan" Netflix docuseries, Harry detailed the argument in 2020 that put him and his father at odds. He claimed that, while meeting with senior members of the royal family to discuss his and Meghan's future plans, they came at him with guns blazing. "Once I got there, I was given five options: One being, all in, no change. Five being, all out. I chose option three in the meeting. Half in, half out," Harry claimed (via Us Weekly).
It turns out that neither Charles nor Prince William were happy with this proposal, and a nasty fight erupted. "It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me, and my father say things that just simply weren't true, and my grandmother quietly sit there, and sort of take it all in," Harry said. Harry and Charles' relationship has been especially complicated ever since.
2021: Prince Harry told the world that King Charles stopped taking his calls
During Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry not only revealed things that made the royal family look pretty bad, but he also shared that his father, King Charles III, was giving him the silent treatment. This revelation came after Harry and Meghan told Winfrey that the monarchy failed to support them while the British tabloids were tearing them apart. Harry claimed that he continued to seek his father's support, but Charles failed to give it to him. "[He] stopped taking my calls," Harry told Winfrey. "I will always love him but there's a lot of hurt that's happened," Harry continued (via Oprah Daily). Cue more drama.
Charles' failure to pick up the phone when Harry called was addressed once again in Robert Jobson's book, "Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed." The book, released in 2023, details what allegedly happened behind the scenes. Jobson claimed that Harry discussed his concerns with Queen Elizabeth II first, but that she preferred he and Charles sort things out between the two of them instead of using her as the middle person. "[Charles] stopped taking Harry's calls after his son swore at him and repeatedly asked for funds," Jobson claimed in the book. "When the Queen asked Charles why he hadn't given in, he told her that he wasn't a bank," Jobson wrote.
2021: Prince Harry accused King Charles of leaving him high and dry
During the tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview in 2021, Prince Harry alleged that his father cut him off financially almost immediately after he and Meghan Markle left the royal fold. As a result, the two of them were left without any security during a time when the paparazzi couldn't get enough of them. Harry basically accused his father of hanging them out to dry while he and his family were at their most vulnerable. "My family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us," Harry claimed (via Us Weekly). "[I was cut off] in the first quarter of 2020. But I've got what my mom left me and without that, we would not have been able to do this," he added.
In his memoir "Spare," Harry elaborated on these claims, saying that Charles was "my boss, my banker, my comptroller, keeper of the purse strings throughout my adult life." He added that his whole financial ordeal was a result of his getting fired from the institution, and he had to scramble to take care of Meghan and his son, Prince Archie, without the institution's financial help.
During the Oprah Winfrey interview, Harry added that he still loved his father despite all that happened. "I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship," he said. With King Charles' cancer diagnosis, that might finally happen.
2021: Prince Harry got into another squabble with his father following Prince Philip's funeral
When Prince Harry returned to the U.K. for Prince Philip's funeral in 2021, he tried to make peace with Prince William and King Charles III, but to no avail. In his memoir "Spare," Harry detailed the reunion and explained that it turned into another argument, even though he'd tried everything in his power not to let it become one. "I quickly discovered that it wasn't up to me. Pa and Willy had their parts to play, and they'd come ready for a fight," Harry wrote.
Harry claimed that he wanted to use the opportunity to explain his decision to move to California to his brother and father, but that he never really got the chance to do it during the encounter. "I tried to explain my side of things. I wasn't at my best. For starters. I was still nervous, fighting to keep my emotions in check, while also striving to be succinct and precise," Harry recalled in the book. Alas, the family meeting turned into another squabble with neither Charles nor William willing to see reason. "It got so heated that Pa raised his hands. 'Enough!' He stood between us, looking up at our flushed faces: 'Please, boys — don't make my final years a misery," Harry recalled in the book. And so the feud between father and son continued.
2021: Prince Harry revealed that his father let him down
During the tell-all Oprah Winfrey interview, Prince Harry expressed his disappointment in his father, King Charles III, telling Winfrey that he'd expected better from a man who knew what it was like when your wife was constantly hounded by the media. "I feel really let down because he's been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like ... Archie is his grandson," Harry said (via Us Weekly). Charles, according to sources, was not happy with Harry's statements in the interview and saw it as an attack on the monarchy. "Charles does not agree with Harry trashing his whole family in public. Charles thinks these matters could have easily been addressed in private," a source told Us Weekly.
In his Apple TV+ series, "The Me You Can't See," Harry revealed a little more about how he felt let down by his father when it came to navigating the media. "My father used to say to me when I was younger, he used to say to William and I, 'Well, it was like that for me, so it's gonna be like that for you.' That doesn't make sense. Just because you suffered, it doesn't mean that your kids have to suffer," Harry said, adding that he was doing everything in his power to break the cycle within his own family.
2022: King Charles forbid Prince Harry from wearing his military uniform at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral
Few can forget the drama surrounding Prince Harry's military uniform that unfolded during Queen Elizabeth II's funeral proceedings in 2022. Because Harry was no longer a working member of the royal family, King Charles III forbade him from wearing his military uniform to the funeral. However, Prince Andrew, who was also no longer a working member of the royal family due to his controversial friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was allowed to wear his military uniform at the queen's final vigil.
Royal biographer Christopher Andersen told Us Weekly at the time that Charles' decision was to be expected. "It was [what] the queen wanted. And I think Charles wanted to make sure that those wishes were fulfilled," Andersen said. Commentator Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, however, heavily criticized the decision. "It's deplorable double standards here," Mos-Shogbamimu told Newsweek, adding that the royal family was "being totally tone deaf and not reading the room as well as sending the wrong message."
Whether it was because of conversations with Harry behind the scenes or the media backlash, Charles eventually went back on his decision and allowed Harry to wear his military uniform to the queen's vigil. The damage, however, was already done, and the incident likely didn't do Harry and Charles' already strained relationship any favors.
2022: King Charles allowed the queen's initials to be removed from Prince Harry's uniform
While Prince Harry was eventually allowed to wear his military uniform to Queen Elizabeth II's vigil, he was seemingly snubbed by his father, King Charles III, in what appeared to be a pretty hurtful jab. Royal pundits and eagle-eyed reporters couldn't help but notice that, while Prince Andrew's military uniform sported Queen Elizabeth's "ER" (Elizabeth Regina) cipher on its shoulders, Prince Harry's did not.
An unnamed source told The Times that Harry was very hurt by this, describing the prince as "devastated." The source also claimed that Harry had even considered opting for a morning suit instead because the whole ordeal was humiliating for him. "[Harry] is heartbroken. To remove his grandmother's initials feels very intentional," the source claimed. And indeed, it did seem like the palace was trying to hit Harry where it hurt most. And so, amid the heartache of losing the queen, the royal rift between Harry and his father grew ever wider.
2022: Prince Harry accused his father's office of leaking his and Meghan Markle's royal exit plans
Prince Harry made plenty of shocking allegations after leaving the royal family, including that King Charles III's office leaked his and Meghan Markle's royal exit plans to the media. Harry made this bold claim in 2022 in Netflix's "Harry & Meghan," saying that his and Meghan's plans to move to South Africa were obliterated when the palace allegedly fed the information to the press. Harry insinuated that he didn't want to believe his father would allow his office to do such a thing, so when Charles asked him to put his plans to move to Canada in writing, Harry did so — to his detriment.
"[I] sent him emails on the first and the second and third of January. And in one of those, I'd mentioned, in one of those, if this wasn't going to work out, then we would be willing to relinquish our Sussex titles if need be. So that was the plan," Harry said in the docuseries.
Not long after Harry put his and Meghan's plans in writing, it was splashed across the front page of The Sun. "It became clear that the institution leaked the fact that we were going to move back to Canada," Harry said, adding that the fact that The Sun somehow knew that he and Meghan were willing to relinquish their titles was the dead giveaway that the information had come from his father's office.
2022: Prince Harry accused King Charles of never apologizing for how he and Meghan Markle were treated within the royal family
When it comes to feuds within the royal family, accusations are plenty and apologies are few, at least, that's what Prince Harry insinuated in his and Megan Markle's Netflix docuseries. While Harry detailed the encounter he had with King Charles III and Prince William after Prince Philip's funeral in his memoir "Spare," the prince hinted at the unsuccessful reunion in the docuseries, claiming that his brother and father simply could not seem to understand that he had valid reasons for leaving the royal family behind.
While none of them exactly wanted to talk about Harry's departure at Philip's funeral, they still attempted to discuss it, but with no success. "It was hard — especially spending time having chats with my brother and my father, who just were very much focused on the same misinterpretation of the whole situation," Harry said. "I've had to make peace with the fact that we're probably never going to get genuine accountability or a genuine apology [from my family]," Harry admitted, adding that he was done waiting for one too. "My wife and I, we're moving on. We're focused on what's coming next."
2022: King Charles failed to mention Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in his royal Christmas address
While some optimists likely hoped that the feud between Prince Harry and King Charles III was more media fanfiction than truth, Charles proved that all was not well between him and his son when he left Harry and Meghan Markle out of his first Christmas address as king in 2022. While Charles sang the praises of Prince William and Princess Catherine during his speech, neither Harry nor Meghan's names were even mentioned in passing. To be fair, Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary did drop some royal bombshells that December, so the king likely wasn't feeling all warm and fuzzy toward them.
Former royal butler Grant Harrold told Express that Charles wasn't in the wrong for leaving the couple out of his speech because they hadn't contributed to the royal family in any significant way in 2022. "I think with everything that's gone on recently, it was probably best not to mention Harry and Meghan," Harrold said. He explained that, with Harry and Meghan no longer being working royals, it doesn't make sense to mention them in any official speeches. But Harry is still Charles' son, and the king leaving him out of his speech hinted at some underlying tension.
Despite all the speculation that took over the internet after Charles omitted Harry and Meghan from his 2022 Christmas speech, the king once again failed to include the Sussexes in his 2023 Christmas address.
2023: Prince Harry hinted to ITV that King Charles doesn't want to reconcile
While doing interviews to promote his memoir "Spare," Harry also made an appearance in a 90-minute ITV special where he shared some of the royal family drama with Tom Bradby. During the program, Harry told Bradby, "I want a family, not an institution," adding that he wanted to rekindle his relationship with his brother and father (via The Guardian). However, the prince hinted that a reunion was not in the cards when he said, "They feel as though it is better to keep us [him and Meghan Markle] somehow as the villains. They have shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile." While it wasn't clear exactly who "they" were, it might be safe to assume that Harry was referring to Prince William and King Charles III since he was discussing his strained relationship with them in the interview.
When he made an appearance on CBS News' "60 Minutes" program, Harry brought up the lack of support he and Meghan Markle received from the royal family during their time as working royals even though plenty of support was provided to other members by feeding stories to the press. "So when we're being told for the last six years, 'We can't put a statement out to protect you,' but you do it for other members of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal," Harry said, adding that attempts to solve this problem privately proved futile.
2023: Prince Harry reportedly upset King Charles with damaging allegations about Queen Camilla
When Prince Harry's memoir "Spare" finally hit shelves, it spawned plenty of headlines, and apparently, some of those bombshells had King Charles III hot under the collar, specifically those about his wife, Camilla, Queen Consort. In his memoir, Harry revealed that he and his brother, Prince William, didn't want their father to marry Camilla after their mother's death and that they begged him not to go through with the nuptials. Harry also alleged that Camilla "sacrificed me on her personal P.R. altar."
An anonymous source told Us Weekly that the king was none too pleased with Harry's mentions of Camilla in his book. The source didn't specify which passages had the king in a rage, but the aforementioned ones were likely among them. "Charles is distraught. He's angry and outraged that Harry's aired so many embarrassing and damaging assertions, and it's put him in a terrible position with Camilla of course now that she's been dragged into the equation. That's really crossed the line in more ways than one," the source claimed.
Harry describing Camilla as "dangerous" during CBS News' "60 Minutes" program probably didn't help matters. Harry didn't hold back during this one, claiming that Camilla was willing to do whatever it took to rehabilitate her image in the press after Diana's death. "There was going to be people or bodies left in the street because of that," Harry said.
2023: Prince Harry made shocking allegations about his father in his memoir
Prince Harry did not mince his words in "Spare," and even went as far as to reveal his father, King Charles III, sometimes joked that he wasn't really his son.
In the book, Harry recalled his mother Princess Diana's affair with James Hewitt. Speculation was rife that Harry was actually Hewitt's son — and the two do look eerily alike — but Harry clarified that his mother met Hewitt after he was born. Charles, however, liked to crack the occasional joke about Harry's parentage. "Pa liked telling stories, and this was one of the best in his repertoire. He'd always end with a burst of philosophizing ... Who knows if I'm really the Prince of Wales? Who knows if I'm even your real father?" Harry wrote. "He'd laugh and laugh, though it was a remarkably unfunny joke, given the rumor circulating just then that my actual father was one of Mummy's former lovers: Major James Hewitt." Harry went on to explain that the rumors stemmed from Hewitt having the same hair color as him and called the press sadistic for spreading these rumors.
Harry also alleged that, on one occasion, Charles' office fed stories about William and Princess Catherine to the press in exchange for positive stories about him and Camilla, Queen Consort. Apparently, William was beside himself when he found out, and he confronted Charles with Harry by his side. Charles denied the allegations and called William and Harry paranoid.
2024: A reunion between Prince Harry and King Charles finally seems possible
Hopes for a possible reunion between King Charles III and Prince Harry have been dashed on multiple occasions, but Charles' recent cancer diagnosis might just be the thing that finally leads to him and Harry burying the hatchet. Not only did Harry immediately book a flight to the U.K. after being informed of Charles' diagnosis, but there have also been rumors that the prince is willing to lend his father a helping hand during this time. A source told People that Harry visiting his father was a good sign.
While Harry's meeting with Charles was brief, he seemed more positive about their relationship when the media questioned him about the trip. Speaking on "Good Morning America" after returning to the United States, it appeared that Harry's attitude toward his family had shifted somewhat. "Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I'm grateful for that," he said, adding, "I've got other trips planned that will take me through the U.K., or back to the U.K., and so I'll stop in and see my family as much as I can." Is that the sweet sound of a reunion we're hearing in the distance? Can it be? While royal pundits are likely wary of getting their hopes up, we might live to see Harry and Charles make peace.