Prince Harry is reportedly hurt and fuming that King Charles flat out refused to make time for him during his historic US state visit from April 27th through April 30th. The King met with Donald Trump, addressed Congress, and attended state dinners but skipped any meeting with Harry, Meghan, Archie, or Lilibet in California. Harry had reportedly hoped this trip might be a turning point in their estrangement.
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s ‘high-stakes’ US state visit kicked off this week, and within hours of their landing stateside, where they were welcomed with a red carpet and a guard of honour, the senior royals headed straight to the White House.
During their time at the historic building, Charles, 77, was pictured laughing with Melania Trump as she affectionately placed an arm on his shoulders; while the monarch then appeared to share a joke with President Donald Trump, hinting at an affectionate bond between the two men.
Of course, amidst his deep rift with the Royal Family, combined with Trump’s regular verbal attacks on him and Meghan Markle, 44, Prince Harry may have struggled to see the snaps of his father bonding with someone who continues to make cruel jibes about his marriage, having previously joked that he is ‘whipped’ and wishing him ‘luck’ in coping with ‘terrible’ Meghan.
Now we’re told that, with the monarchy continuing to be engulfed by scandal and political relations between the UK and the US currently fractious, Harry, 41, understands that this visit, the first in almost ten years for Charles, is crucial to maintaining the ‘special relationship’ between the two countries.
However, from a personal viewpoint, our source says Harry and Meghan are struggling to accept that Charles appears to be making no moves to defend them.
The insider says, ‘Harry understands, albeit reluctantly, that it’s the King’s duty to maintain a relationship with anyone who holds office [as US President]. But the fact Trump has seemingly made it his mission to discredit and tear them down right before he welcomes his father and stepmother to America is something he can’t get past.
‘For Meghan it beggars belief that Charles is allowing this bile and slander from Trump go unanswered or defended They’re just praying it doesn’t spiral out of hand if Trump gets a chance to run them down to Charles one-on-one. It triggers and worries them in equal measure, especially after Charles has refused to Harry during his time in America.’
The last time Harry saw his father was back in September, with the brief afternoon tea at Clarence House being their first meeting in 19 months. Yet with widespread reports claiming that Prince William and other senior royals are not keen for Harry to be welcomed back into the royal fold, Harry is walking on a tight rope when it comes to his future as part of the Royal Family.
Meanwhile, we recently reported that, ahead of his trip to the UK in July for the Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham, Harry had been hoping that he and Meghan could again float the idea of pursuing a ‘half in, half out’ role as part-time working royals.
The idea had been previously rejected back in 2020, but following the success of their Australian trip earlier this month, a source told us, ‘Harry feels he’s very close to getting Charles to agree to allow him and Meghan to be working royals on a part time basis.’
However, we’re now told that his father’s alleged refusal to see him and the monarch’s show of friendship with Trump has left Harry on tenterhooks about what this could all spell for his future.
The insider says, ‘Things are so delicate right now; it’s definitely not out of the realms of possibility that Trump could torpedo everything that Harry has been working towards with his father. The fear is could prompt his father to side with William and others – right when they’re making progress and finally rebuilding bridges with key members of the Firm.
‘Harry is doing his best to stay pragmatic and anytime questions about why Charles is meeting with Trump come up, he’s quick to point out that it’s simply part of his father’s role. But he does admit that the whole situation has been keeping him up at night.
Most heartbreaking for Harry, we’re told, is the public’s assumption that Charles and Trump appear to share a close bond, having last met in September during the President’s State Visit to the UK, meaning that the monarch has actually seen Donald more often than his youngest son over the past year.
Meanwhile, Trump has spoken out on several occasions against the Sussexes, saying ‘they must pay’ their own way in the US, further describing Harry to Piers Morgan in 2022 as an ‘embarrassment’ who has been ‘led around by his nose’.
Following Harry’s surprise visit to Ukraine last week, where he spoke out about the need for ‘American leadership, Trump hit back, going as far as to claim he was ‘speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry’. In the next breath, he called Charles a ‘friend of mine’ and said they were going to have a ‘great time’ when he came to visit.
‘Fact is, Charles does seem to have quite a fondness for Trump, whether that’s something Harry wants to acknowledge or not, the source says now.
‘Of course, it’s tough for Harry to sit on the sidelines while his dad breaks bread with someone who seems to want to have him and his wife thrown out of the country. And the fact that he’s not getting the same level of attention from Charles that Trump is only makes it worse. Harry is biting his tongue because he knows reacting will only stir up more trouble but it’s been very difficult, especially because Meghan does not want to give Charles a pass on this.’
Now only time will tell if Harry’s hopes to rejoin the royal feud come to pass this summer, but the source says that in the meantime, Charles’ visit also has the potential to cause tension between Harry and Meghan.
The insider says, ‘In her view, this is exactly the kind of situation where Harry should be standing his ground, not making excuses for his father. Meghan is fuming and saying it sends the wrong message if they let this go unchallenged.
‘She’s taking it very personally and doesn’t understand how Harry can simply sit back and try to explain this away. But his stance is that they need to keep their eyes on the prize and not do anything that could jeopardize their long-term goal of re-building their relationship with his family.
‘Emotions are running very high but so far Harry’s managed to keep a lid on everything. He seems determined not to let this derail the fragile progress he’s made, even if it means swallowing his pride and riding out a situation that clearly isn’t sitting well with either of them.
