King Charles is currently ‘less irritated’ by Prince Harry than he is by his older brother William, according to royal biographer Tina Brown.
The claim throws an intriguing new light on yesterday’s meeting between the monarch and his prodigal son – their first face-to-face encounter in more than 18 months.
Writing on her Fresh Hell Substack, the highly respected author of The Palace Papers said that tensions are brewing between King and heir over William’s workload, which pales in comparison to his cancer-stricken father and has been punctuated by numerous holidays.
Brown also said that the King feels William’s carefully cultivated image as a doting father, while genuine, is a ‘tacit criticism’ of his own past shortcomings as a parent.
The Duke of Sussex has been on his own pseudo-royal tour of the UK this week, which culminated in him meeting his father for just under an hour at Clarence House.
Ms Brown, the former editor-in-chief of Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, has said his return to the UK has been a great success for the California-based royal, which is ‘bad news for the Prince of Wales’.
‘The king is, I am told, currently less irritated with the prodigal Harry than he is with his elder son and heir,’ she said. ‘Somehow, William’s parenting dedication always seems couched as a tacit criticism of the king’s own paternal deficiencies’, she said.
Prince Harry has been building bridges with his father the King – and attempting to with the British people – on his trip to the UK
William, Prince of Wales and Catherine, Princess of Wales visit the Natural History Museum a week ago
Tina Brown has suggested that King Charles met Prince Harry for the first time in 19 months at a time where he is ‘less irritated’ by his youngest son than he is by William
She added: ‘And after five confirmed family vacations in the past seven months, William’s first-week-back diary pulsated with two outings: a father-daughter excursion to a Women’s Rugby World Cup pool match and a stroll through the Natural History Museum’s new gardens. Charles, despite his battle with cancer, has carried out official engagements on 175 days during the past 12 months’.
Ms Brown, who counted Princess Diana as a friend and saw her in the weeks before she died in 1997, believes that the warm welcome Harry has received in the UK this week shows his ‘reset’ has worked.
‘At last, Prince Harry has got it right, which is bad news for the Prince of Wales. After five years of exuding choler and wrath and spouting therapeutic gibberish, the ginger whinger finally realized that all the royals have to do to win public enthusiasm is zip around the UK and smile’, she said.
‘Harry’s own reset, a positivity campaign he hopes will endear him to his still estranged father and a negative British public (those cheers in Nottingham were a good start), came with a new unexpected gambit—a contribution from his own bank account of £1.1 million to the Children in Need project.
‘It cannily unleashed for William the uneasy question of what exactly the 43-year-old Prince of Wales is doing with the £23million a year’, she added.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex waves as he departs following a visit to the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London yesterday
The Prince and Princess of Wales during a visit to the National Federation of Women’s Institute (WI) in Sunningdale, Berkshire, to mark the third anniversary Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Monday
Prince William and Prince Harry, pictured together after the Queen’s death, are no longer talking
Prince Harry has ‘loved being back in the UK’ and ‘catching up with old friends and colleagues’, his spokesperson told the Daily Mail today as his tour of Britain concluded.
The Duke of Sussex wrapped up his trip with a visit to a charity set up in memory of his mother, one day after reuniting with the King for the first time in 19 months.
His spokesperson gave an upbeat review of the UK tour, saying: ‘He’s obviously loved being back in the UK, catching up with old friends, colleagues and just generally being able to support the incredible work of the causes that mean so much to him.’
The Duke carried out his final engagement this morning linked to the Diana Award in Central London as he brought his four-day solo trip to a close before flying home.
Harry took part in a panel discussion at Salisbury Square on how social action can positively impact mental health with four young people involved with the award.
The Duke spent around one hour chatting to young ‘changemakers’ and listening to a panel discussion with the Diana Award team before departing just after 11.15am.
Harry then headed to London Heathrow Airport to fly back to the US to join his wife Meghan Markle and children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in California.
He appeared upbeat at an Invictus reception in the City of London last night, just over an hour after he left Clarence House where he and the King shared a private tea.
The pair’s long-awaited meeting at the royal residence, which lasted just 54 minutes, comes after Harry publicly expressed hopes of a reconciliation with his family in May.
Asked how his father was by a reporter shortly after arriving at the Invictus reception, Harry – who turns 41 next Monday – replied: ‘Yes, he’s great, thank you.’
The Duke is not expected to appear at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in Westminster Cathedral in London on Tuesday after making the journey back to Montecito. The service will be attended by the King, Queen and other senior Royal Family members.
At the event organised by the Diana Award today, Harry talked about the boost activism offers to the mental health of young people.
The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today
The Duke visited ServiceNow at Salisbury Square in Central London, where he heard stories about the emotional struggles young people try to overcome.
Harry’s brother Prince William is also a supporter of the award, and an event such as this might have previously seen them attending together.
But the Duke was by himself today as he spoke to a gathering of around 40 people after a panel with Lottie Leach, Elsa Arnold and Idorenyin Hope Akpan, all 23, which was chaired by chaired by Dan Lawes, a former winner of the organisation’s Legacy Award.
Harry said: ‘Getting involved in peaceful social action takes courage and determination. Young people see the issues society faces close up – whether that’s poor mental health or the consequences of inequalities.
‘But you don’t stand still; your empathy and compassion drive you to make change. Purpose combined with action can help overcome a sense of hopelessness, and that’s exactly what you’ve shown today.
‘When you spoke about how taking action gave you purpose, confidence and joy, it was more powerful than any statistic. It reminded me that agency is not a luxury for young people, it is a lifeline.
‘My mother believed in the power and agency of young people to positively impact the world. The Diana Award continues her legacy by putting young people at the heart of everything they do.
The Duke of Sussex during a visit to a Diana Award event at Salisbury Square in London today
‘Today is a perfect example of that. My message to everyone is don’t stand still, don’t stay silent – make them hear you because you speak for the majority.’
Diana Award chief executive Dr Tessy Ojo said: ‘One in five young people is living with a diagnosable mental health condition, and four in ten feel powerless about their future. The crisis is real.
‘This is why the Diana Award launched the ‘decade of youth wellbeing’ a year ago, prioritising mental health for young people globally. When young people are trusted to lead and take action, their wellbeing rises, their resilience grows, and hope is restored. Put simply, action heals minds.’
Yesterday, Harry drove through the gates of Clarence House following an earlier engagement at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London.
He arrived at Clarence House in a black Range Rover at 5.20pm and left at 6.14pm ahead of the Invictus Games Foundation engagement yesterday evening.
Buckingham Palace confirmed Harry joined Charles for tea.
