William’s cold shoulder turns to ice
The relationship between Prince William and Prince Harry is now so bad that William may not invite his brother to his coronation, according to a bombshell report published this weekend.
In a revealing Sunday Times article to mark Harry’s 40th birthday in September, royal editor Roya Nikkhah also reports that King Charles is said to have not given up on his relationship with Prince Harry, but finds it “frustrating” that Harry continues to fight the king’s government in court over security arrangements, and is avoiding speaking to him because he fears Harry will try to lobby him over the security issue.
Sources recently told The Daily Beast that Charles will not speak to Harry on the phone and that they believe the king should use his influence to get Harry upgraded U.K. security.
Charles and other royals remain deeply mistrustful of Harry, the report says, citing a source as saying: “The problem for the king and other members of the family is the worry that if they have a chat with Harry, it will appear in Spare volume two. How do you regain the trust? I don’t think Harry ever can.”
One of his former aides poses the question: “What is the purpose of Prince Harry and what is Prince Harry’s purpose? He loved the army and was very good at his job. The work with Invictus is great and fatherhood was the role he most wanted, so perhaps those are enough for him. But everything else is a bit woolly. I always thought he wanted more from life. I can’t help but think he must be wondering, ‘Where do I go from here?’”
A close friend of Harry tells the Times: “He made his decision [to leave the royal family] for his family—that was the right choice and he has no regrets. One of the primary reasons for them leaving the UK was the institutional and media issues they felt they faced, so for that they must feel vindicated. But did he get what he wanted? No. The perfect scenario was to get what they originally asked for—‘We’d like to move and still be semi-royals.’ So they’re finding another way of doing it.”
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet members of the public on the long Walk at Windsor Castle on September 10, 2022 in Windsor, England.
Kirsty O’Connor – WPA Pool/Getty Images
The Times says Harry has reportedly found a father figure in Canadian music mogul David Foster, 74, and his wife, Katharine McPhee, a school friend of Meghan’s who has said Harry and her husband are “like father and son.”
As already reported, the brothers have allegedly not spoken for two years, and Harry’s isolation from William is so bad that William and Kate did not even respond to Harry and Meghan when they sent a message of sympathy and well-wishes to Kate following her cancer diagnosis.
Royal friends told The Times Harry had been “outrageously disloyal” with one saying: “Harry and Meghan could have left with dignity and decency and not trashed the institution. The conclusion is they’ve made money from trashing his family.”
Andrew under new pressure to move
The siege of Royal Lodge could be entering a new phase. The Sun on Sunday reports that Prince Andrew is under renewed pressure to quit his palatial home after Charles said he will lay off its ten-strong security team.
King Charles has reportedly told the private detail their contract ends in the Fall. A palace insider told The Sun on Sunday: “Everyone is speculating this means the duke will have to leave the Royal Lodge because what other reason could there be to take his security away?
Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends the Royal Family’s Christmas Day service at St. Mary Magdalene’s church, as the Royals take residence at the Sandringham estate in eastern England, Britain December 25, 2022.
Toby Melville/Reuters
“They are all working the final weeks of their contract till the end of October. It’s not thought anyone is being lined up to replace them. It isn’t a secret that the king wants him out.”
In May, sources briefed that Andrew’s life would become “increasingly cold and uncomfortable” if he didn’t vacate the Lodge. However, friends and allies of Andrew have told The Daily Beast he intends to hang on to his 75-year lease on the Lodge, and hand the property on to his children.
King Charles may yet say what cancer he has
King Charles has not revealed which cancer he is suffering from but may yet do so, according to an extensive report in The Sun this weekend. A source told the paper: “Never say never. There are no current plans to reveal the cancer. But if he felt that the time was right…”
The Sun also says that the king is doing well but not “totally out of the woods” yet.
King Charles III visits Aberdeen Town House to meet families who have settled in Aberdeen from Afghanistan, Syria and Ukraine, in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain October 17, 2022.
Jane Barlow/Pool via Reuters
The report adds that the king kept his meeting with Prince Harry brief, partly as a precaution to avoid picking up a secondary infection. The Sun says that Harry arriving at the palace after “flying 5,000 miles on a jet was not ideal.”
Aides said they stopped Harry staying with his father at Sandringham, fearing “we’d never get rid of him,” the report adds.
Ouch!
Charles’ tribute to late queen’s confidante
King Charles says he is “deeply saddened” by the death at 91 of Queen Elizabeth’s former lady in waiting Lady Airlie.
Virginia (“Ginny”) Ryan was the first American to have served as a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen, the Sun reports. “Ginny and the queen shared a close bond, so dear that the late monarch is thought to have made her only ever nightclub appearance to mark Virginia’s 70th birthday.”
A statement released from Buckingham Palace read: “His Majesty was deeply saddened to hear the news, having known Lady Airlie for so much of his life and having so greatly appreciated her immense devotion and dedicated service to Her late Majesty over so many years.”
This week in royal history
Princess Margaret was born on August 21, 1930.
Princess Margaret, 1994.
Russell Boyce/Reuters
Unanswered questions
How will the royals respond to all the revelations in the Sunday Times Harry blockbuster—counter-briefing, or total silence?
