Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Harry opens his heart to Charles
» His ‘deeply personal’ letter » But dad remains ‘very hurt’
PRINCE Harry wrote his father a “deeply personal” note ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral – but the rift has not been repaired ahead of his return to the US.
The Duke of Sussex reached out to Prince Charles after the relationship “hit rock bottom” before he saw his family for the first time since quitting royal life last year.
But the Prince of Wales remains “very hurt” by his decision to appear in an interview last month with US chat show queen
Oprah Winfrey while the
Duke of Edinburgh was seriously ill in hospital.
Sources close to the
Duke of Sussex, 36, who lives in California with wife Meghan, 39, and their son Archie, two, told how he has been
“forced to write letters” due to a “complete communication breakdown”.
In his correspondence he has “outlined his reasons for leaving” while promising to “respect the institution”, sources have revealed.
His brother Prince William is understood to be at odds with how to deal with him after the interview.
Despite the brothers being seen speaking after their grandpa’s funeral their relationship is understood to be “extremely frosty”.
Harry claimed a family member commented on how “dark” his baby would be, while Meghan alleged the family refused to help her when she was feeling suicidal while pregnant.
The Duke told Oprah his father and brother were “trapped” by the institution. Palace insiders revealed the future kings were “outraged”.
A royal source said: “Harry didn’t really know what to expect before he came home, which is why he reached out. He wrote a deeply personal note to his dad to try to set things straight but tensions are still running high, things haven’t exactly ironed out the way he had hoped.
“There’d been a kind of unspoken agreement between everyone to park whatever has been on each person’s mind and solely concentrate on supporting the Queen ahead of Prince Philip’s funeral.”
Charles has travelled to his Welsh home in Llwynywermod where he is continuing to observe the royal mourning period which ends on Thursday.
The source said: “Harry didn’t expect everything to be completely back to normal but his feeling after seeing his family was there is a lot of ground to make up.
“There is a lot of distrust in the camp and everything is very, very raw.”
One Palace insider said Charles was hoping to see his son again after Philip’s funeral but Harry told him he was not sticking around.
Meghan is expecting their second child, a girl, within weeks.
Meanwhile, Charles and William are said to be “completely focussed” on supporting the Queen.
They have scheduled a meeting to design roles for each of the seven senior members of The Firm.
Palace sources say the two future kings are “totally aligned“that there is “no way back” for Prince Andrew after the fallout from his links with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A spokesman for the Prince of Wales did not comment.
Tensions are still running high, things haven’t ironed out the way he had hoped ROYAL SOURCE ON HARRY REACHING OUT TO HIS FAMILY