King Charles celebrated his 75th birthday on Nov. 14th with family and friends alike, but one person was notably missing—his son, Prince Harry. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have distanced themselves from the royal family since leaving their royal duties behind in 2020, but many thought that Prince Harry and his father might have made up by now. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle caused a lot of trouble for the Royal Family when they moved to California and dropped their royal responsibilities. The pair started saying a lot of negative things about the Royal Family in the press, namely their 2021 interview with Oprah, 2022 Netflix docuseries, and 2023 memoir, Spare. Because of this, tensions have been high between the current royals and the ex-royals.
King Charles is in 'no rush' for reconciliation
Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English revealed this week that the subject of Prince Harry and his decision to leave the Royal Family in such a dramatic way is one that brings King Charles "great pain." According to her source, there is "barely any level of communication" between the father and son, stemming from anger on both sides.
While Prince Harry believes he is owed an apology, King Charles feels he, and the rest of the Royal Family, are the victims in the situation. "There is undeniable anger at the anguish the King believes Harry caused the late Queen in the last years of her life," English explains. "Not to mention the insults he has heaped upon his own wife Camilla, of whom Charles is understandably protective."
"Charles is a man who notoriously hates confrontation and will never close the door on his younger son," English continued. "But sticking to his guns, he has rejected Harry's demands for an 'apology' and put the whole issue to one side for the time being."
A different source also reported that from the King's point of view, "there's no rush to patch things up."
Prince Harry denies being invited to King Charles' birthday party
King Charles hosted a birthday celebration at the Clarence House in London for his family and friends, and there has been a lot of back-and-forth in the media over whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were invited or not. The Sunday Times reported that the ex-royals declined their invitation to the event, but soon after, a spokesperson for Prince Harry told The Messenger that King Charles "never reached out."
"There has been no contact regarding an invitation to His Majesty's upcoming birthday," the spokesperson said. There hasn't been any further clarification from either side about the issue, though royal commentator Neal Sean reports that "most senior members of the British monarchy are more than relieved" that Harry and Meghan would not be present for the event.
Prince Harry and King Charles reportedly share a 'warm' birthday phone call
Prince Harry didn't outright snub his father on his birthday, however. He did in fact call the King on Nov. 14th to wish him a happy birthday, which The Telegraph reported was a "turning point" in their relationship. According to the outlet, Meghan also jumped on the phone call, and overall, the conversation was "warm," and marked a "notable shift in tone" between the estranged family members.
Hopefully this means that Meghan and Harry are on track to patch things up with the rest of Harry's family. After all, Archie and Lilibet are just children, and may want to get to know their aunts, uncles, and cousins across the pond.
