Prince Harry & King Charles haven’t even spoken since the Sussexes’ return

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are giving me a headache. This whole situation is so stressful and I’m not even the one going through it. To recap, three weeks ago, Team Sussex announced that the family would uproot themselves from Montecito and move back to the UK, where the children would also enroll in British schools. One week after that announcement, the family arrived in the UK and they’ve been mostly undercover ever since. Still, Team Sussex has issued a steady stream of briefings about the move, their security fight, their plans for charitable work and more. The Sussexes’ spokesperson is so chatty, the spox even gave a comment to the Daily Mail after the Lord Chamberlain clarified the Sussexes’ non-working-royal status on Monday. The spox said outright that Prince Harry and Meghan were “a little surprised” by the announcement. Part of that surprise was apparently that the palace communicated with them or acknowledged them in any way, because it turns out that Harry hasn’t even spoken to his father since the return.

Prince Harry has not spoken to the King since returning to the UK two weeks ago, royal sources have revealed. The Duke of Sussex has not scheduled a call with his father since informing him that he was moving back to Britain with his wife Meghan and their two children. The King was on a summer break at Balmoral in Scotland, when his estranged son told him he was moving back to his home country – six years after sensationally quitting his royal role in 2020.

Charles and his heir Prince William were together at the monarch’s Scottish estate when Harry informed the King – just three days before news broke around the world.

Royal sources have said the King and the rest of the royal family has been “blindsided” by the Sussexes’ relocation and remain unsure of the true reason for the family moving from California. Despite the confusion, the King is understood to be very much looking forward to seeing his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, more often. However, sources say the monarch feels “perplexed” that his estranged son has not offered the courtesy of keeping him informed about the family’s plans.

One source said: “Harry has spoken openly about desperately wanting reconciliation and yet he is the one keeping his father and his family in the dark about major developments such as moving back to the UK. Such behaviour just makes it harder to deal with the Sussexes or know their true motives for moving their entire lives back to Harry’s homeland. The whole family are perplexed about the situation.”

Rumours have swirled in royal circles as to why Harry and Meghan have made the seemingly hasty decision to move to the UK, from Harry, 41, becoming homesick to Meghan, 45, being in line for a starring role in the Netflix series, The Gentlemen.

Uncertainty has also crept in as to whether the Sussexes have made the move to be closer to the King as a precursor to asking to become part of the working royal family again. Well placed insiders were quick to shut down that idea, with the King and the Prince of Wales “completely united” that there is no way back for Harry and Meghan to return to the royal fold.

[From The Daily Mirror]

I’ve changed my mind about something this week, given the clarification on the Sussexes’ status and all of the reporting around it. I now sort of believe that Harry only informed his father a few days before the big announcement. Previously, I argued that there was probably more collusion between Harry and Charles, and that Charles was making some quiet moves behind-the-scenes for months to ensure the Sussex Return. Now I doubt that theory. It feels far more likely that Charles gave Harry an inch and Harry took a mile. As in, Harry happily went through the palace’s humiliation rituals in July, all so Charles would agree to meet with Meghan and the children. Charles agreed at the last minute to a brief visit, probably believing that the Highgrove meeting would be the end of it until Harry’s planned visit in September. Instead, Harry brought Meghan and the children back into this ugly trauma blender with the belief that the Highgrove visit was a turning point. I don’t think Harry is stupid, but I think he’s willfully naive, and he’s refusing to read all of the signals Charles has sent him for years. Charles doesn’t actually want a relationship with the Sussexes. He never did.

Update: That Bronte Coy woman said that her sources told her that Charles and Harry have spoken on the phone in recent days.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.