Ever wonder why Prince Harry is so easy to relate to? Sadly, one of the reasons that so many relate to the young prince is that he has repeatedly angered his family members with various decisions. Sure, Harry may be rich, famous, and handsome, but he deals with family drama and serious baggage just like the rest of us.
When it comes to Harry and family drama, you might first think of his alleged feud with his brother, Prince William. But in recent years, no one has disapproved of Harry’s actions more than his father, Prince Charles. In turn, some of Harry’s actions (particularly the infamous interview with Oprah) cast Charles in a very negative light.
Now, though, it looks like Prince Charles is trying to mend his relationship with Harry. How did this get started, what was his olive branch, and how is Harry responding? We’ve got the full scoop below!
What started Prince Charles’ rift with Harry?
The British are notoriously tight-lipped about their feelings, and none more so than the Royal Family. So while it is difficult to discover how the rift between Harry and Charles started, we can piece it together from various sources.
As you might imagine, Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle seems to have sparked the initial rift between them. Though Meghan wasn’t the direct cause: rather, it was her notorious father, Thomas Markle, doing things like posing for the paparazzi when he was told not to shortly before Meghan’s wedding.
Some of Meghan’s texts leaked in November 2021, and the Daily Beast reported on one interesting tidbit. According to the texts, Meghan only reached out to Thomas via a letter (a letter that he would partially leak to the press, leading to a nasty “Meghan vs. the tabloids” lawsuit) because Charles was furious at Harry over the situation. “By taking this form of action I protect my husband from this constant berating,” she texted.
So, Charles was already angry at Harry over his fiancée’s father making the Royal Family into a laughingstock. And her attempt to smooth things over ended up making everything much worse, leaving lasting tension between Harry and Charles.
RELATED: Why Prince Harry & Prince Charles’ Relationship May Be Over For Good
Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview made the rift infinitely worse
In the fullness of time, both Harry and Charles probably would have gotten over this wedding-related drama. But things got so much worse once Harry and Meghan decided to step down from most of their royal responsibilities and leave England entirely.
In a controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, Harry claimed that Charles and the rest of his family “literally cut me off financially” due to this decision. But as Insider reports, Charles kept giving money to Harry until the summer of 2020, prompting some to wonder if Harry was actively lying about his father’s actions in front of the entire world.
Most shocking, though, was Meghan Markle’s claim that a senior member of the Royal Family expressed concerns over the skin color of her unborn child. Later, sources told Page Six that she was referring to Prince Charles himself. This might explain why other royals, particularly Prince William, so vociferously denied these claims.
When the smoke cleared, the rift between Harry and Charles was wider than ever. And here was Harry living half a world away, going in front of millions of people to air dirty laundry about the Royal Family.
Prince Charles has extended an olive branch
Eventually, something had to give between Harry and Charles. And in what some might call an uncharacteristically generous move, it was Charles that first extended an olive branch.
On Jan. 4, 2022 Prince Charles published an essay in Newsweek discussing the importance of fighting climate change. It’s a subject he is passionate about. And, in what many are calling an olive branch, he took the time to single out and praise Prince Harry: “My younger son, Harry, has passionately highlighted the impact of climate change, especially in relation to Africa, and committed his charity to being net-zero.”
Why, though, did Charles wait so long to extend an olive branch like this, and why did he do so indirectly? As royal expert Stewart Pearce recently told Us Weekly, “Prince Charles is, by nature, a very shy man and like to [be by] himself. That doesn’t mean he’s uncaring it, he just finds demonstration or emotional display … [to be] really difficult.”
In other words, these two were never destined to hug it out. But Charles has now done what Harry did — going to American media where millions will listen to him — to send a message to him.
RELATED: How The Royal Family Really Feels About Harry & Meghan In Their Own Words
Will Harry delay his memoir as an olive branch to his father in return?
How did Prince Harry receive this particular olive branch? According to The Sun, it could motivate Harry to delay releasing the memoir he is set to publish in late 2022.
Speculation about Harry delaying his memoir comes from royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams. “I think if you offer an olive branch it’s only reasonable to expect something in return,” he told The Sun. “The Royal family need to know the pressure is being taken off them when it comes to this autobiography.”
If Harry does not postpone publication of his memoir, “everything that is said to Meghan and Harry when they come over for the platinum jubilee celebrations — which I’m sure they will — could conceivably find its way into the book.”
Fitzwilliams is referring to Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, a major event that will likely bring Harry and Meghan back to the UK in early February. Harry and Charles have a vested interest in mending their relationship lest either of them make a scene at that event. And Charles may have an even stronger interest in healing the rift because whatever Harry writes in his memoir is likely to be a major part of Charles’ legacy after he passes away.