Prince Harry’s relationship with his royal relatives, including King Charles and Prince William, is said to still be at an all-time low. And the monarch’s desperate plea from four years ago is even more painful now

King Charles with Princes William and Harry (Image: Getty Images)

Prince Harry’s relationship with his estranged father King Charles and brother Prince William is hanging on a knife’s edge, with new bombshell claims sheding fresh light on the true state of their seemingly broken bond. Reports now suggest that there has now been a deepening of the rift, especially between father and son with Harry’s calls and letters to his dad reportedly going unanswered.

Since Harry and wife Meghan sensationally quit royal life more than five years ago, face-to-face meetings between Harry, Charles and William have occurred just a handful of times. And one of those tense reunions came almost four years to the day in April 2021, when the Royal Family gathered for the funeral of the late Prince Philip. The final farewell for the late Queen’s husband came amid a tumultuous time for royal relations.

Harry’s calls to his dad are said to go unanswered (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Just weeks beforehand, Harry and Meghan’s bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey had aired, where the Sussexes had railed against their treatment in the Royal Family. In his memoir Spare, Harry recalls that after paying his last respects to his grandfather, he and his dad and brother all got together to thrash out their issues. He said that it came after he felt “cut off” when explaining his feelings to his dad and brother and a heated argument ensued between him and William.

And according to the Duke, it prompted Charles to beg as he looked at their flushed faces: “Please, boys – don’t make my final years a misery.” Later in the book, Harry also said he was “stopped cold” during the exchange when William used a “secret code” they had for “times of extreme crisis”.

Harry recalled how William forced him to look into his eyes so he could tell him that he loved him and wanted him to be happy. He then says he told his brother that he loved him too but that his “stubbornness is extraordinary” and pulled away. He goes on to claim that William pulled him back and said: “Harold you must listen to me, I just want you to be happy, Harold, I swear, I swear on mummy’s life.”

Harry also has a tense relationship with his older brother Prince William (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

And Harry added: “It stopped me cold, as it was meant to. Not because he’d used it, but because it didn’t work. I simply didn’t believe him.” Much has happened since that day – including the late Queen’s death, Charles becoming King and not forgetting the Royal Family facing more swipes from Harry, both in his Netflix docuseries with Meghan and his controversial memoir, Spare.

However, there appeared to be a flicker of light at the end of the tunnel for Harry’s royal relationships when just over a year ago Charles announced some unexpected news. After revealing he had been diagnosed with cancer, his youngest son jumped on a plane and dashed to his dad’s side, with many hoping it would begin the process of reconciliation. But 14 months later and despite several further visits to the UK by Harry including one last week, it was the last time the pair saw each other.

In fact, Harry’s relationship with the King has become so distant, he remains in the dark about his estranged father’s cancer battle, it has been claimed. When the King had a short stay in hospital last month after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment, it was said that Harry only found out about it on the news like everyone else. And now, according to PEOPLE magazine, Harry also has not been told about his father’s current condition or prognosis.

So-called friends of the prince told the publication that Charles has been ‘unavailable’ during Harry’s last three visits to the UK – and his most recent visit last week came after the court date had been scheduled for months. A palace source said: “I don’t think there is any rapprochement”, while another added: “They are distant”.

Prince Harry flew to the UK last week for a two-day hearing at the High Court(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Harry’s calls and letters have gone unanswered and the King is reportedly keeping his distance to avoid being drawn into discussions about security, sources close to Harry believe. Harry was in London last week for his appeal against the dismissal of his High Court claim against the Home Office. It came after the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) determined that following his decision to move to the US, Harry should receive a different degree of taxpayer funded protection when in the UK.

The duke, who is awaiting the outcome of his appeal, sensationally told The Telegraph “people would be shocked by what’s being held back” after some evidence was heard in private. Harry claimed his police protection was withdrawn in a failed bid to force him and the Duchess of Sussex to stay in the UK.

Ravec’s decision in 2020 stated that Metropolitan Police protection would no longer be appropriate after the Sussexes’ departure and that they should receive a different degree of protection when in the UK.

The Duke previously argued he wanted his children Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, to know their UK heritage but cannot bring them or wife Meghan to his home country as he does not feel it is safe for them without police protection.

Speaking after the hearing last week, Harry suggested the decision regarding the change in his security was an attempt to prevent him and wife Meghan from quitting as working royals and moving abroad – which Buckingham Palace sources have strongly denied. It is said Harry believes his dad could help to have this reinstated, although this has been dismissed as “wholly inaccurate” by a palace source.

Meanwhile, relations with William are said to also be at a low ebb with PEOPLE magazine reporting the pair are still not speaking. In recent months, they did come together to attend a memorial service for their uncle Lord Robert Fellowes, the late husband of their aunt Jane, a sister of Princess Diana.

However, the two brothers are said to have kept their distance from one another and were not seen talking to each other. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told the Mirror: “William wouldn’t be human if he could block out thoughts of his brother, his one-time wingman, the sibling who shared so much trauma with him in their younger years.

“But I don’t think he has much room in his head or his heart to dwell on the rift with Harry. As time goes by, it becomes the norm for Harry to come and go and for there to be no contact. The surprise will be if and when there is some kind of communication.”