OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Prince Harry and wife Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, are not on very good terms with King Charles, according to a weekend report.
The Daily Beast, citing unnamed sources, reported that the king intends to “follow the playbook” established by the royal family last century to overcome a crisis that was “triggered by Edward VIII,” who abdicated the throne in 1936 and had to live the rest of his life outside of the UK. The outlet said that would amount to “permanent ‘exile.'”
“The royals handled the abdication crisis by exiling Edward which meant he and Wallis ultimately came to seem like unimportant, misguided, disloyal, and even treacherous individuals to almost the entirety of the British people,” a friend of the king’s told the outlet. “It was a masterful operation in the service of which the Queen Mother, in particular, worked tirelessly.
“The same thing is already happening with Harry and Meghan, and will only gather pace over the next few years under the rule of King Charles. And of course, a wayward second son is far less of an existential threat to the fabric of the monarchy than a wayward king,” the king’s friend added.
A second source, also unnamed but reported to be a former Buckingham Palace staffer, told the outlet that in his accession statement, King Charles noted that his son and Meghan should “continue to build their lives overseas” in what was viewed as a message not to interrupt his reign by continuing to make trips to the United Kingdom.
“Harry and Meghan will get an invite to the coronation, but they will be firmly seated in the cheap seats along with Beatrice and Eugenie, as they were at the funeral. That will be it. Charles will be ruthless when it comes to protecting the Crown, and that means keeping Harry and Meghan as far from the center of gravity as possible,” the former staffer told the outlet.
The Daily Beast noted further:
The news follows the revelation, reported by the Sun Thursday night, that Harry snubbed Charles’ offer of dinner the night he was at Balmoral following Queen Elizabeth’s death, after Charles had forbidden Meghan from joining Harry at Balmoral.
Instead of joining Charles, Camilla, and William for supper at Charles’ home on the Balmoral estate, Birkhall, Harry stayed with Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and wife Sophie at Balmoral Castle itself.
“Harry was so busy trying to get Meghan to Balmoral and rowing with his family that he missed the flight. Charles has an open invitation for Harry to dine with him whenever he is in the country,” another source told the outlet.
“But Harry was so furious that he refused to eat with his father and brother. It was a massive snub. And he got out of Balmoral at the earliest opportunity to catch the first commercial flight back to London,” the source added.
It was Harry’s and Meghan’s decision to leave the royal family, but at the time, they noted: “We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America.”
The outlet reported that though Meghan’s comments are generally shrugged off by Britons, “Harry represents an entirely different level of threat.” The report also said that an upcoming tell-all memoir by Harry could have a major impact.
“There is genuine nervousness about the impact his memoir—now thought to be delayed in the wake of the queen’s death, but that has not been confirmed—could have on the king if he decides to launch a serious attack on Charles, which many insiders fear he will.”
“Harry and Meghan are a huge distraction that the royals don’t need. Charles wants them out of sight and out of mind. So he is likely to feel far more comfortable if Harry and Meghan are safely on the other side of the world—forever and ever, amen,” the report added.
