A source close to the royal couple claims that Queen Camilla of Britain has advised King Charles against meeting Prince Harry during the Duke of Sussex’s recent visit to London, citing concerns over the king’s health.
According to The New York Post, Prince Harry, 40, was in London earlier this week for various charity engagements. However, despite the visit, no reunion with his estranged father occurred.
The source revealed that Queen Camilla’s advice stemmed from concern for the king’s health, as he is battling cancer.
“[Camilla] has been the principal voice urging Charles to slow down and take things easy,” the source told The Daily Beast, as quoted by The New York Post. “The last thing she wants him to do is to get stressed out over a meeting with Harry.”
It was reported that King Charles, 76, had no plans to travel to London during Prince Harry’s visit. The two have only met once this year, in February, when the Duke of Sussex flew to the U.K. upon learning of his father’s cancer diagnosis.
While Queen Camilla’s protective stance has been highlighted, sources indicate that King Charles is still keen to repair his relationship with Prince Harry, motivated by both personal reasons and the damage the ongoing rift has caused to the monarchy.
“The king has an instinctive impulse toward Christian reconciliation, and his cancer diagnosis has only sharpened that,” the source said. “He wants this settled, not just because he loves both his sons, but because it has been so destabilizing for the monarchy.”
The relationship between the king and his son has been strained, particularly after Prince Harry released his memoir “Spare” and his Netflix series with his wife Meghan Markle, in which they criticized their royal relatives, according to The Mirror.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry expressed a willingness to meet with his father to discuss reconciliation. The duke voiced disappointment that a meeting did not take place during his brief trip to the U.K. in May, but remains hopeful for future discussions.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the situation or the reported advice from Queen Camilla, 77.
