The relationship between King Charles and Prince Harry has been strained for years – particularly since the Duke of Sussex stepped back from royal duties and relocated to California with wife Meghan Markle, where they reside with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Since the groundbreaking move, the Duke of Sussex has failed to pacify the tense relationship created, especially after matters were made worse owing to the bombshell revelations and allegations made in his best-selling memoir Spare and docu-series released by Netflix Harry & Meghan.
After the move, Prince Harry returned to the UK several times, including in light of King Charles’s cancer announcement, and reportedly tried to amend relations with his father.
Harry has been back to attend charity awards as well as a special service at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark 10 years of his Invictus Games.
But King Charles, who was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, wasn’t able to meet with Harry on each of those occasions.
The Mirror reports that sources claimed that before the May trip to celebrate the Invictus Games, Harry asked for a meeting with the King.
However, the monarch reportedly gave a simple four-word response to the request, saying he would definitely do so “if he is able”.
One of the last visits Harry made to the UK to have resulted in a face-to-face chat with Charles happened shortly after the monarch had been diagnosed with cancer.
Charles was only able to see his younger son in London for less than an hour before he headed back to Sandringham to rest.
“Harry has kept in regular contact with his father on several occasions and made no secret of his desire to see him when he can,” a source said. “He has been especially concerned about him and hopes the King will be well and able to see him as planned.”
Harry and Charles’ relationship is further frayed by the fact that the Duke’s security detail was taken away following his decision to step down as a working royal, with Harry taking legal action against the government to ensure his and his family’s safety when in the UK.
