As royal tensions remain sky-high and no sign of improving relationships, one royal expert thinks that Prince Harry’s tell-all book Spare “wounded” the royal family – with recent events leaving King Charles “unhappy”
A royal expert believes the royal rift involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is unlikely to heal “anytime soon” – but thinks there is a future for King Charles’ relationship with his youngest son.
More than four years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world by sensationally announcing they were quitting their royal roles, tensions are still high in what is still a rocky time for the royal family. From interviews to royal snubs deepening the rift – it seems unlikely that Prince Harry’s relationships with his family will heal anytime soon.
Now, sharing his insight at the Hay Festival, royal author Robert Hardman – who wrote Charles III: New King, New Court, The Inside Story – said that Harry’s dramatic memoir Spare “wounded” royal relations. He said: ” The problem that exists is, at the moment, there is still a trust issue. People are still very wounded, particularly Prince William, that these intimate private childhood family moments all spilled out in Harry’s book.”
In his view, the problem isn’t “what Harry said” but the fact that “he gave away so many secrets.” He even suggested that the Duke was “effectively, at the time of the Queen’s death, taking notes.” Hardman also thinks there’s a cynical reason as to why Harry hasn’t told the full story. He said: “If you do read that book, and as I said it’s amazing, but if you get to the bit about his wedding to Meghan, it boils down really to about four or five pages. Now, as an author, that says to me one thing and one thing only: part two might be on its way.”
According to the expert, the royal row left King Charles feeling unsettled, with the rift making him unhappy. The biographer added: “There he is, he’s got two sons, one he hardly sees, and two grandchildren he’s barely ever seen, and yes, I think he would like some sort of modus vivendi. Clearly they can’t come back to royal life, I don’t think they want to. And, after all that’s happened, it wouldn’t work.” If the royal family want any chance of easing tensions, Hardman said the first step in repairing the relationship would be to “normalise” it.
He said: “I thought it was telling that when the cancer diagnosis came through back in February, Prince Harry came straight over. People said why didn’t he stay longer, why didn’t he talk to his father? I mean, there is so much to be worked through, but this was absolutely not the moment to have some sort of summit with Harry about all of Harry’s grievances.
“But I think the fact he came was important, the fact he was received was important, I think what encouraged people at the palace and encouraged the king was the fact that afterwards, we didn’t then read about it or hear about it. It remained private.” Regarding King Charles’ health after his shock cancer diagnosis earlier this year, the royal expert shared that the the monarch’s routine had gone mostly back to normal – “albeit with a few caveats from doctors.”
