King Charles 'left bruised' as he's snubbed by Prince Harry despite granting royal request

King Charles was reportedly "left bruised" after Prince Harry's unexpected 'snub' despite the monarch having acquiesced to his son's request, a palace source has disclosed.

During Prince Harry's visit to the UK earlier this month for an event commemorating the Invictus Games, there were expectations of a possible reconciliation with King Charles. The father-son relationship has been strained, particularly following Harry's candid criticisms of his family in his book, Spare.

However, following the news that Charles had been diagnosed with cancer in February, Harry made a prompt visit to London to be by his side, and even hinted at future meetings during a television interview. Yet, upon Harry's arrival in Britain, his spokesperson released a statement indicating that he would not be seeing his father due to Charles's "full programme".

Subsequently, the Sunday Times reported that Harry had requested to stay at a royal property while in the UKa request that was reportedly approved by Charles, although Harry chose to stay at a hotel instead, as writes the Mirror.

Roya Nikkhah, the royal editor for the Sunday Times, discussed the situation on the podcast The Royals with Roya and Kate, saying: "All the narrative from the moment he [Harry] touched down and we got that statement from Harry's spokesperson saying it's not possible for Harry to see his father, his father is too busy, he completely understands. That set the mood music for the whole week that Harry had said Pa is too busy to see me.

"I just thought something didn't feel quite right about this, so I dug away and dug away a bit deeper and found out that actually, Harry had asked if he could stay and Charles had said yes, come and stay son. You come and stay in a royal residence, you are near where I am so it's going to be much easier for me to see you given what's going on with my diary and your diary.

"And that turned everything on its head because the narrative from Harry that I wanted to see my father but he is too busy to see me, actually the reality was Charles said yes please do come and stay in a royal gaff and that would make it much easier for me to see each other."

The Times assistant editor Kate Mansey responded: "Someone at the palace told me that the King was bruised by that statement that Harry put out, which all plays into exactly why."

Roya added: "The clashing that still remains is that Harry let it be known that he absolutely did ask to see his father, he put in a request well in advance of coming, more than 28 days before the warning he gives to the Home Office for security, absolutely adamant that he did. Charles' camp says as far as we are aware, we didn't get a request. So still recollections may vary."

In a statement issued by his representative, Prince Harry expressed hope to soon see his father. However, as royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams points out: "the depth of the rift with the Royal Family has, if anything, deepened after Harry's recent visit".

Fitzwilliams made claims about the "utterly bizarre subsequent controversy over whether his father was too busy to meet him which is extremely unhelpful as he needs to project a positive image", and also proffered advice on how the Sussexes can find sustained success.

"If they are to thrive and not just survive they must avoid offending the Royal Family, their attacks have cost both them and the royals' popularity and made them appear extremely destructive and also hypocritical over the issue of privacy," added Fitzwilliams.

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