King Charles ‘Frustrated’ by Prince Harry’s Behavior

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Prince Harry’s attack on government annoys palace

An attack on the government by Prince Harry, tacked onto the end of his witness statement in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for phone hacking, is “extremely difficult and uncomfortable” for the monarchy, which is constitutionally required to be “above politics,” sources have said.

Towards the end of his lengthy statement, Harry declared: “Our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government, both of which I believe are at rock bottom.”

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Speaking to The Sunday Times about the comment, a royal source said: “The Palace will find that extremely difficult and uncomfortable, because you can never fully separate yourself from the institution and it will have raised eyebrows on both sides of the park—at Westminster too—not least because it wasn’t necessary for the core of his case.

“But it only underlines the wisdom and importance of [Elizabeth II’s] decisions taken at Sandringham [the family summit in January 2020], that you cannot be half-in and half-out. Those decisions are now the royal family’s insurance—when one of its members continues to break with convention, they can point out that he is speaking as Harry Windsor, not as the Duke of Sussex, working member of the royal family representing the nation. Then, there is the deep irony of a member of the royal family talking about how the country is judged around the world, which is often by and through the royal family. It shows a deep misunderstanding by him.”

Another source, described by the Sunday Times’ Roya Nikkhah as someone “who knows Harry well,” says: “I think he’s been sitting in the Californian sunshine for a long time, hanging out with James Corden [the actor and TV host] and has lost all the instincts on how to do this, how to conduct himself carefully, still as a member of the royal family. He’s lost the knack of what he can and can’t say and there is no one around him to say, ‘No, Harry, you can’t say that, take that bit out’. It’s embarrassing for him and for Britain, for a prince to be saying, ‘We’ve got a shit government.’”

Nikkhah says that King Charles is becoming increasingly exasperated by Harry’s actions, with a source saying: “The king brings Harry up every time I see him. I don’t think we’ve moved past sad and bewildered, but there’s a bit more frustration at his behavior, because it just keeps going.”

A former courtier told Nikkhah: “I think he is seeking inner peace and this becomes the target—he thinks if he can bring the media to heel, it will cure his pain. Sadly, I don’t think it will. He’s still defending his mother. Nothing will take that pain away.”

No invite for Harry

King Charles has not invited Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to the King’s Birthday Parade (aka the Trooping of the Color) next weekend. The Daily Mail reports that it will be “the first time in Harry's life that he has not been welcome at the monarch's official birthday celebrations,” and particularly significant because this is the first such celebration of the king’s reign. A source told the paper, “I’m afraid it’s a reflection of the state of relations at the moment.”

Rehearsals for the event, the first Trooping since Elizabeth died, were conducted Saturday and included Prince William on horseback. Warm conditions caused several bearskin-sporting guards to topple over.

Overcompensating?

Charles wanted to buy his granddaughter Lilibet a big gift for her second birthday, perhaps even a custom made cubby house, but was warned off by Harry who told him to get something “less extravagant,” reports OK! Magazine.

A source told the publications that King Charles had “his aides looking at custom-made cubby houses, similar to what the Queen and Princess Margaret had when they were girls.” However, the source added the idea got a thumbs down from Harry who asked his father to do something “less extravagant.”

Parents, huh?

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The Beatrice and Eugenie question

Could a future King William restore the Yorkists? Prince Andrew’s daughters—Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie—could return to frontline royal duties under King Billy, the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden speculated this week.

Eden said on a Mail podcast: “Queen Elizabeth had the Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Kent, and Princess Alexandria, all carrying out engagements and helping her. I would like to see, in the future, Prince William being helped by his own cousins, such as Eugenie and Beatrice. Perhaps in the future, when William is King, they might feel it is the right time to dedicate their life to royal duties.”

Plane brilliant

Prince Harry may have left a special gift for an American Airlines flight attendant this week—a copy of his memoir Spare. The Telegraph reported that Holden Pattern posted a picture of himself with the Duke on Instagram stories while aboard the flight, captioning the image “passenger prince” with a crown emoji. While he didn’t say Harry gave him the copy of Spare, Pattern added that he “found this in my luggage that a passenger gave me.” Harry had been flying back to America after taking the stand in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers.

This week in royal history

A real spin back in time: Edward I was born on June 17, 1239. He was king from 1272 to 1307.

Unanswered questions

Can Charles and Harry repair their relationship? Will Harry prevail in court?

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