Prince Harry's London visit snub was 'last straw' for King Charles

Prince Harry's strained relationship with his father, King Charles, exacerbated when he released his explosive memoir, Spare. Despite things not looking well for their relationship, there was speculation about a potential reconciliation between the father-son duo when the Duke made a surprise visit to London. Royal expert, Daniela Elser wrote in her column for news.com.au that this might not be the case.

The Duke of Sussex arrived for a preliminary hearing in his case brought against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for unlawful information gathering, which the publisher denies. Elser claimed that "things really took a turn for the worst for Charles" not just when he found out "his son had decided to pitch up on home turf, but that his son demonstrated his continuing refusal to not waste an opportunity to lash out at the royal family." In a witness statement entered into the court record, the duke alleged that "the Institution was without a doubt withholding information" from him "for a long time" about the phone hacking.

Harry also mentioned in his statement that he was "conditioned to accept" the policy which was to "never complain, never explain." Elser argued that one thing that is different from other times is the reaction from Charles. She stated, "Nearly immediately after news of Harry's return to London broke on Twitter, it was being reported by the Telegraph that His Majesty was 'too busy' to see his son, a line that was quite hard to swallow given that last-minute cancellation by the French."

Elser added that now a friend of the monarch revealed that Harry's decision to drag his family into his legal fight "sounds a lot like, the last straw for His Majesty." Speaking to the Daily Beast's Tom Sykes, the friend said, "Harry has torpedoed any remaining bridges with this statement. It is just six weeks until the coronation and the last thing Charles needs."

The friend also told Sykes that the "trust is gone and I think that's been made quite clear by the King refusing to meet him."

Elser surmised that royal family may have failed Prince Harry but the duke and his wife Meghan Markle are not faultless given their explosive Netflix docuseries followed by the memoir. "Yes, the royal family might have failed him, especially as a grief-stricken child, but for yonks now he has been failing them too."