22 May 2024 , 10:12
961
0
Prince Harry didn't hold back in his tell-all memoir Spare - and that included criticism of his father, King Charles.
Relations between Harry and the rest of the royal family greatly soured following the release of his book, with no signs of a reconciliation on the horizon. Both Charles and Prince William are said to have been especially upset by Harry's 'betrayal' with older brother William having essentially 'disowned' his sibling.
In Spare, Harry reflected on his childhood and Charles as a father - including in the wake of Princess Diana's death. In one extract, he wrote: "He'd always given an air of being not quite ready for parenthood—the responsibilities, the patience, the time. Even he, though a proud man, would've admitted as much. But single parenthood? Pa was never made for that. To be fair, he tried."
Elsewhere, Harry writes of Charles's inability to talk about his emotions. "He had trouble communicating, trouble listening, trouble being intimate face-to-face," he said. "On occasion, after a long multi-course dinner, I'd walk upstairs and find a letter on my pillow. The letter would say how proud he was of me for something I'd done or accomplished. I'd smile, place it under my pillow, but also wonder why he hadn't said this moments ago, while seated directly across from me."
But he also shows compassion for his father in the book. "Evenings, I'd shout downstairs: Going to bed, Pa! He'd always shout back cheerfully: I'll be there shortly, darling boy!," Harry writes. "True to his word, minutes later he'd be sitting on the edge of my bed. He never forgot that I didn't like the dark, so he'd gently tickle my face until I fell asleep. I have the fondest memories of his hands on my cheeks, my forehead, then waking to find him gone, magically, the door always considerately left open a crack."
Meghan Markle 'to unleash her own memoirs' as Prince Harry's drops next week
It comes after Harry failed to meet up with any members of his family during his recent return to the UK - including the King. It's since been claimed that Charles offered Harry the chance to stay in a royal residence during his stay, but that Harry turned it down over 'security issues'.
According to royal expert Tom Quinn, Harry needs to "keep his head down" if he wants to mend his broken relationship with his family.
Tom told The Mirror: "Friends of the couple insist that Harry genuinely thought his father would see him during this visit but unless Harry mends his ways, keeps his head down and stops criticising his family, the estrangement with the king, his father, is going to become permanent.
"Harry undoubtedly thinks his problems with his father can be laid at the door of Prince William and Camilla and there is no doubt that the Prince of Wales and the Queen are doing all they can to keep Harry as far away as possible from King Charles."
William, meanwhile, is now said to be utterly indifferent to his younger brother. The BBC's former royal correspondent Jennie Bond told Times Radio: "I think as far as William is concerned, Harry really doesn't exist.
"William has enough pressure on his heart and his head, with his wife [the Princess of Wales ] and her ongoing cancer treatment, and his father [King Charles], his job and his kids that I don't think he's got any room in his soul to worry about his estranged brother...I think William has disowned Harry."