Harry Reportedly Has No Chance Of Reconciling With King Charles (& William Might Be To Blame)

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The future is looking bleak for King Charles III and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex's relationship. Hostility festered between the monarch and his son when Harry and his American wife, Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, left their senior royal positions for good in 2020. Any chance of mending the emotional wounds of the past were shattered by Harry and Meghan's continuous, media-driven attacks on the palace, including their now-infamous 2021 interview with Oprah and their tell-all Netflix docuseries "Harry & Meghan." The Duke of Sussex has done his own damage with his bombshell memoir "Spare," which provided his personal account of a seemingly turbulent life as a royal in the limelight. Even after all that, talk of reconciliation between father and son swirled among tabloids. But recent reports suggest that Harry's stunning family drama has finally met its breaking point.

"There is no turning back," royal expert Hilary Fordwich recently told Fox News. "King Charles remains tender towards his son but can't risk communication." The reason Charles might never forgive Harry? Harry's brother, William, Prince of Wales, is reportedly to blame. According to Fordwich, William feels enough resentment toward his brother that it's impeding his and his father's chances of starting fresh with Harry — and as future king, William has control over the situation. "The animosity is so deep that William has shut the door on Harry. Charles is not willing to go against his heir's wishes," Fordwich noted.

It appears — in Prince William's eyes — that Prince Harry did irreversible damage to his shot at uniting his family during a candid interview with the BBC in May. After his appeal for high security in the U.K. was denied in court, Harry asserted to the British news outlet that he desires to reconcile with his family. "There's no point in continuing to fight anymore," Harry said, noting his concern about his father's health amid Charles' cancer diagnosis. But the ex-royal added that it is in his father's hands to pilot their reunion.

Royal watchers seemingly agree with Harry, believing that the king should be the resolver, per People. However, all trust is reportedly lost between brother, brother, and father. "The King and William don't trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation," journalist and biographer Sally Bedell Smith told the outlet. Valentine Lowe, author of the impending Fall 2025 book "Power and the Palace," defended Harry, saying his version of outreach on the BBC just isn't coming off well. Miscommunication has been Harry's Achilles' heel for years. He revealed on "The Late Show with James Corden" in 2021 that the U.K. press was actually his biggest reason for leaving royal life. "It was never walking away," he said. "It was stepping back rather than stepping down." Even so, it sounds like Harry lost his chance to pursue family therapy.