Last month, Prince Harry’s visit to the UK saw his own father reportedly avoid him at every turn.
We’re sure that Charles has a lot on his gilded plate. He is a living mascot for a fallen empire and he has a big, expensive party to plan.
But reports say that Harry tried, in earnest, to see his father.
It was Charles — the same man who allegedly wants his son at his coronation — who couldn’t make time to meet.
Sometimes, a friend stops in town and it’s just not a good time for either of your schedules. You agree to meet up when it works for both of you, and you go about your business.
But when “close” family members with painfully strained relationships cannot make time for each other, that is different. There is almost always something deeper going on.
What hurts the most is this situation — where one side was working hard to see the other, only to receive a snub.
Last Tuesday, royal expert Alexander Larman spoke to Us Weekly to confirm what many had already suspected about Prince Harry’s latest trip across the pond.
“Apparently, [Harry] tried to see King Charles,” he reported.
“But,” he then explained, “King Charles said he was too busy.”
Now, Harry’s trip was not just some sort of family trip. He was in town on business, of a sort.
Harry needed to appear in court in late March as part of a phone hacking lawsuit against some very dubious UK publications.
(British tabloids do not enjoy a positive international reputation. Phone hacking allegations might not describe their most harmful behavior, but it’s certainly upsetting to imagine)
During his visit, Harry reportedly stayed at Frogmore Cottage. That was his former home with Duchess Meghan Markle.
However, Charles recently repossessed the royal property from him. Very recently — and despite the millions that Harry and Meghan had put into renovating the residence. (Or, more accurately, money that they repaid after leaving royal duties)
Apparently, that didn’t mean that Harry cannot crash there during a visit. This visit, anyway.
Charles may have opted out of making time to see Harry, but this is not their last chance to see each other.
(Probably. There are a lot of people in the world who have half-jokingly wondered if Charles will not make it to his coronation)
In one month, on May 6, Charles — who is already king — will enjoy a lavish, expensive celebration even as the UK struggles and withers away from Brexit’s pernicious influence.
Officially, neither Harry nor Meghan have officially issued a statement on attending. Notably, the coronation date corresponds to the birthday of their firstborn, Archie.
Harry has previously expressed a desire to reconcile with his family, despite everything that some of them have put him through.
Meanwhile, expert Larman opined that he would feel “amazed” if Harry ended up skipping Charles’ special big boy ceremony.
“If he [doesn’t] go to the coronation, he’s essentially saying, ‘I am not gonna have any relationship with my family ever again,’” Larman characterized. That, he says, would be worse than facing some “cold shoulders” from weirdo relatives.
“In a universe in which the damage already caused by the rift is still recoverable from, at least in part, a no-show would be the fatal, irreversible blow,” royal public relations expert Edward Coram-James opined.
he then continued: “Both in the public perception as well, potentially, as within the family itself. It risks drawing out the conflict over the long term.”