Prince Harry's Potential Reconciliation With King Charles Road Blocked By One Major Worry

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, has been on the outs with the royal family since 2020, but has dropped subtle hints he may be ready to mend fences. However, his path back into the fold may be an even greater uphill battle than the prince may have anticipated. In his book "Charles III: New King, New Court," royal biographer Robert Hardman cited an adviser to the royal family who is also an expert on the Constitution of the United Kingdom (via the Daily Mail). Harry's potential reconciliation with his father, King Charles III, is reportedly road blocked by one major worry: the implications of Harry's pending lawsuit against the U.K. government. According to the expert, the lawsuit puts Charles in a very difficult position: "Here you have the infelicitous situation where the King's son is suing the King's ministers in the King's courts. That is pulling the King in three directions." 

It's likely that, in Harry's view, the lawsuit keeping father and son apart is crucial for his family's safety. Of all the royal rules Harry has broken, deciding to abandon his role as a working member of the royal family and move to the U.S. had perhaps the greatest cost: his wife, children, and he are no longer entitled to taxpayer-funded security services when they travel to the U.K. Although this is certainly an important issue for the prince to pursue, the barrier it is creating between him and Charles has resulted in a complete breakdown of communication. 

Earlier this year, King Charles III' cancer diagnosis threw the royal family's future into question and necessitated adjustments to his royal duties. In a statement from Buckingham Palace (via BBC), royal officials announced that the king had "been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties" while undergoing treatment for his illness, leaving other members of the family to take on the task of making public appearances. 

Unfortunately for Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex , it seems Charles has also been relieved of taking his phone calls. As a source explained to People in July, Harry receives only cryptic non-answers when he tries to reach out to his father: "He gets 'unavailable right now.' His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King's health, but those calls go unanswered, too." However, Charles isn't solely to blame for shutting Harry out; his advisors have reportedly encouraged the lack of communication in favor of avoiding any undue stress for the monarch. 

Author Robert Hardman told Fox News that, although healing the rift with Harry is important, it isn't the top priority: "Right now, there is a sense that we've just got to keep the king's stress levels down. We don't want him to have extra things to worry about." Based on the lengths royal officials are going to keep him distanced from the family, it appears unlikely Harry will be able to reconcile with his ailing father until his pending lawsuit concludes.