In recent years, their father-son relationship has come under strain, but King Charles reportedly has tried to save Prince Harry and his wife Meghan from public humiliation.

Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down from their positions as senior working members of the Royal Family created a widely documented rift within the palace, as detailed in Harry’s bombshell 2023 memoir Spare. In one passage, the 40-year-old prince recalled how, after his police security was removed in 2020, despite he and Meghan having been subjected to terrifying threats.

When he tried to contact his father about the matter, however, Harry claimed Charles “wouldn’t take my calls”. In his and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Harry also admitted that he felt “really let down” by his dad, sharing: “I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, [and] Archie’s his grandson.

“But at the same time – I will always love him – but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship. But they only know what they know, or what they’re told.”

Indeed, when King Charles III announced his cancer diagnosis, Prince Harry rushed back to England to be at his father’s side, putting their differences aside during Charles’s time of need. Dad-of-two Harry told Good Morning America at the time: “I jumped on a plane and went to see him as soon as I could. Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.”

Although King Charles hasn’t addressed the rift in public, he apparently has made his enduring loyalty to his youngest son and daughter-in-law known through his actions. In the years since ‘Megxit’, there have been repeated calls to take away Harry and Meghan’s honorary titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However, well-placed sources have told the Mail Online that this is something Charles wouldn’t even contemplate.

One insider who knows King Charles personally has shared that he is “not a punitive man” and would “never want to humiliate” Harry and Meghan. And although Buckingham Palace is reportedly “considering all options”, sources have insisted that such as downgrade “is just something that would not be considered”.

The late Queen Elizabeth II previously stripped Harry and Meghan of their HRH titles after they broke away from the inner circle of ‘The Firm’. If, in the unlikely scenario that she was to lose her Duchess of Sussex title, former Suits actress Meghan would be entitled to take up the name Princess Henry as the wife of a Royal Prince.

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Last month, it was claimed that Harry’s decision to launch legal action after his official, taxpayer-funded police security was removed in 2020 continues to be a sticking point and an obstacle in the way of any potential reconciliation. Although Harry’s initial action against the Home Office proved unsuccessful, he was granted the right to appeal.

Royal expert Kate Mansey has stated that the matter’s ongoing status means that Charles is still reluctant to fully make peace with Harry.

Writing for The Times, Ms Mansey explained: “Harry is challenging a decision by Ravec, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, which decides what security is provided for the royal family and other VIPs. The royal household is represented on the committee and would have had a seat at the table when the decision was made to remove Harry’s automatic right to police protection in Britain.

“It places the King in a tricky position because Harry has been granted leave to appeal. Until the case is concluded, there is little Charles feels he can say to his son. As for Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, there is no communication with the King and Queen.”

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