Prince Harry's calls and letters to King Charles 'go unanswered,' source claims

Things aren't looking up between the royals

Prince Harry and Prince Charles share a joke at the presentation following the Highgrove Polo Team match against Laird polo team in the St James Place charity polo match at Beaufort Polo Club on July 16, 2005 in Tetbury, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince Harry's relationship with his dad King Charles isn't looking good.

It's common knowledge at this point that the two men aren't on good terms, but a new report from People highlights how dire the situation actually is.

According to sources close to the Duke of Sussex who spoke to the outlet, "his calls and letters [to Charles] continue to go unanswered."

The father and son duo are so estranged that Harry isn't even kept up to date on the King's cancer journey — even learning about a recent hospital stay through the media rather than through his own family.

A source close to the Palace told People about the two men's relationship: "I don’t think there is any rapprochement. Nothing has changed."

A second source echoed this point, saying: "They are distant."

As far as we know, the last time Harry and Charles were in a room together was in February 2024, after the Duke learned of the King's cancer diagnosis and immediately flew to the UK to be by his side.

At the time, Harry was only granted around a 45-minute audience with his ailing father, which many commentators felt was incredibly short in comparison to how far the Duke had to travel for it.

Still, it was considered a positive step at the time, with royal correspondent Daniela Relph saying: "It mattered that Harry was here, it mattered that the King wanted to see him."

But though this meeting could have marked a new chapter in the men's path to reconciliation, the King then refused to see his youngest son on subsequent visits to the UK, typically citing his busy schedule — but royal commentators read between the lines and declared these instances to be snubs.

We hope that Harry and Charles are eventually able to reconcile — if that's something they both want.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire. As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles. Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York. As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.