The Seemingly Petty Reason Prince Harry Reportedly Keeps His Kids Away From King Charles

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Amid the ongoing, well-documented feud between Prince Harry and the rest of the British royal family (particularly the rift between Harry, his older brother, Prince William, and their father, King Charles III), one persistent question is what exactly will become of Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's, relationship with The Firm. While evidence suggests Archie and Lilibet aren't completely estranged from certain royal family members, Charles reportedly isn't as active in his grandchildren's lives as he'd like to be. And, to the surprise of absolutely no one, the petty squabbles between the king and his younger son are apparently at the heart of Harry's decision to keep some distance between them.

According to royal biographer Omid Scobie's book "Endgame," it all dates back to February 2023, when the king evicted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from their home in Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor. Harry's late grandmother Queen Elizabeth II had given him and Meghan the property as a wedding present in 2018. And, although the couple relocated across the pond in 2020 amid their shock exit as full-time working royals, Harry held on to Frogmore Cottage as a place to stay when visiting home. Notably, Charles' decision to strip his son of the property came shortly after the publication of Harry's controversial memoir "Spare," which didn't exactly paint the royals in the best light.

Scobie reported that, in an apparent bid to retain control of his U.K. home, Harry posed a simple question to his father: "Don't you want to see your grandchildren?" The king went through with kicking them out anyway, reportedly promising in vague terms that the Sussexes would be accommodated whenever they decided to pay them a visit. However, Charles may regret not taking Harry's ultimatum more seriously.

To be fair to Prince Harry, even amid his ongoing estrangement from King Charles III, he hasn't cut his father off from Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet entirely. Charles, then the Prince of Wales, was obviously on hand to welcome Archie when he was born in the U.K., back in 2019. And, although the Sussexes welcomed Lilibet stateside, following Megxit, the king did reportedly get the chance to meet his granddaughter during the Platinum Jubilee, in 2022, around a year after her birth. Furthermore, despite Harry and Charles' supposed spat over Frogmore Cottage, the king was apparently still in touch with Archie and Lilibet through video calls as of 2024. 

However, he reportedly found these occasional virtual check-ins less than ideal. During a July 2024 episode of the podcast "Dynasty: The Royal Family's Most Challenging Year," royal biographer Katie Nicholl remarked, "I think he has become incredibly frustrated that he's watched Archie and Lilibet grow up on FaceTime." Just a month prior, fellow royal expert Tom Quinn told The Mirror that the king had even been weighing a potential state visit to the U.S. with the ulterior motive of getting to see Archie and Lilibet in person, though such a trip has yet to materialize.

Nevertheless, in September 2024, Ingrid Seward, another well-known royal commentator, corroborated Nicholl's claim that Charles wanted a more tangible relationship with Harry's kids during her own chat with The Mirror. "He wants to know them and be involved with their lives while they are still young enough to be able to learn from his wisdom," Seward shared, adding, "His cancer has made it all the more poignant to him as he knows that he won't be around for ever."