A source close to King Charles is said to have dismissed with a “resounding snort” a question about whether Prince Harry and his children could be invited to holiday with the king at his Scottish home, Balmoral, this summer.
The nasal ‘no way’ was reported by the Daily Mail’s royal correspondent Rebecca English in a report highlighting the difference between the king’s relationship with William’s kids (who he sees regularly) and Harry’s (whom he has hardly met).
The story follows a recent report in U.K. tabloid the Mirror that the king wants to see more of his Sussex grandchildren in real life.
ADVERTISEMENT
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 the Mail now reports that the situation has been “complicated” by “Harry’s repeated attacks on his father and family and his dogged insistence in the U.K. courts that he isn’t safe bringing his family to the U.K.”
However the Mail says that when the reporter “asked a well-placed source whether Harry could bring his children to see the King at Balmoral this summer as a compromise, the answer was a resounding snort.”
Omid Scobie in his book Endgame said that Harry, when told to pack his bags and clear out of Frogmore, responded: “Don’t you want to see your grandchildren again?”
Scobie described the eviction as “a cheap shot from a wounded father bound by an institutional system that is often intolerant of human emotion.”
Charles has seen Archie only a few times and met Lilibet, born in America, just once.
He reportedly declined an invitation to Lilibet’s christening in California.
Since leaving the royal family, Harry has seen his father only occasionally, including a recent rushed visit following his cancer diagnosis.
In May, Harry returned to the U.K. but claimed he was denied a meeting with Charles.
While Charles was often distant during Harry and William's childhood, he has made a conscious effort to be a warm grandfather to William and Kate’s children, who affectionately call him “Grandpa Wales.”
