King Charles is “absolutely committed” to developing a relationship with his American grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, and is not satisfied with only knowing them via video calls, a source speaking to U.K. tabloid the Mirror has claimed.
The paper cited a source as saying: “The king is absolutely committed to being present in all of his grandchildren’s lives. He values family above everything and whatever the course of his relationship with his son, he would never be content with just seeing his grandchildren on the odd video call.”
However, cynics might argue that if the king really wanted to see more of the Sussexes he wouldn’t have stripped them of their U.K. home. Many believe that Charles has made it as difficult as possible for Harry to visit the U.K. to avoid him setting up a rival court.
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Prince Harry’s camp have long argued that he has made it more difficult for Harry to visit the U.K. safely with his family by evicting him from his home on the royal estate, Frogmore Cottage, where Harry’s children’s security would have been assured by being within the royal protection envelope.
Indeed, Omid Scobie in his book Endgame said none other than Harry made this exact point to his father, responding, when told to pack his bags and clear out of Frogmore, “Don’t you want to see your grandchildren again?”
Scobie called the decision from Charles to evict Harry “a cheap shot from a wounded father bound by an institutional system that is often intolerant of human emotion.”
Frogmore, Scobie says, was regarded by the Sussexes as the “only true safe option when visiting the United Kingdom,” due to the royal estate being guarded round the clock by armed guards.
Charles is understood to have seen Archie only a handful of times and has only met Lilibet, who was born in America, once.
Charles reportedly turned down an invitation to Lilibet’s christening in California.
Harry has only seen his father occasionally since he left the royal family, most recently racing home for a flying visit following his cancer diagnosis.
Harry came back to the U.K. in May but said he had been denied a meeting with his father.
While Charles was a distant figure for much of Harry and William’s childhood, he has made a conscious effort to be a warm grandfather to William and Kate’s kids, who call him “Grandpa Wales.”
