King Charles and his heir are said to be at odds over how to handle Prince Harry.
Multiple royal experts echoed the sentiment to Fox News Digital after royal author Robert Jobson told Page Six that Prince William and his estranged brother have “different agendas” and maintain very different relationships with their father.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace for comment.
“When it comes to Harry, William drew a line in the sand after the publication of Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare,’ and he is disappointed that his father is not standing up for him,” Christopher Andersen, author of “The King,” told Fox News Digital.
“William loves his father and appreciates better than anyone how underestimated Charles has been over the years. He wants the king to leave his mark on history. But deep down, he knows he and his family — particularly his wife, Kate — are the future of the monarchy.”
WATCH: PRINCE WILLIAM UNLIKELY TO RECONCILE WITH PRINCE HARRY SOON: EXPERT
While Charles and William are described as being “perfectly civil to each other,” sources told Page Six there are ongoing disagreements about how the monarchy should be led.
“The problem with William is that he thinks he knows best,” royal biographer Hugo Vickers told the outlet.
“King Charles is tired,” Andersen stressed to Fox News Digital. “He would like to have everything as it was before Megxit. But he knows how willful William is. Queen Elizabeth’s cousin Margaret Rhodes told me more than once that the relationship between Charles and his late mother wasn’t cozy. But what people don’t know is that the royal family isn’t set up to be ‘cozy.’ Well, it still isn’t. It’s ‘The Firm,’ remember?”
People magazine reported Harry is expected to visit his home country again in September. The Sun also reported that the king plans to offer him a room at Buckingham Palace in London for his stay. Buckingham Palace and Harry’s representatives had no comment on the report when reached by People magazine.
Royal broadcaster Ian Pelham Turner told Fox News Digital that Charles’ reported offer to accommodate Harry in September is “a potential lifeline” that also sends a message of “defiance” to William, who reportedly wants “no further contact with his estranged brother.”
British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital that William is known for being stubborn behind palace doors and is not one to forgive easily.
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“Megxit forced William to grow up fast as the future king,” she said.
“He had to protect the institution while his brother walked away. William believes the monarchy must be seen to do the right thing, even when it’s painful. From what I understand, he felt his father didn’t handle that firmly enough. He also believes in protecting it by drawing hard lines. But he’s not the king yet.”
“Where Charles may want to smooth things over, to play peacemaker with Harry, William and Catherine are determined to set boundaries. Charles is reigning, but William and Catherine are planning. And that planning is starting to look a lot like leading. Charles wants healing. William and Catherine want survival and stability. William is not doing this to be difficult. He’s doing it because he believes it’s right.”
Royal experts told Fox News Digital that William and Harry have remained estranged since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior working royals in 2020 and relocated to California. Harry and Meghan have maintained that relentless tabloid scrutiny and what they describe as a lack of support from the palace drove their decision to leave royal life.
Since stepping away from royal life, Harry and Meghan have publicly aired their grievances in high-profile interviews and documentaries. Harry’s 2023 memoir, “Spare,” further deepened the fallout within the royal family.
On July 10, the king hosted his younger son and his family for the first time in years in what royal observers viewed as an effort to repair the longstanding rift. The Sussexes secretly met with the king and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House, a country estate west of London, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
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Vanity Fair royal correspondent Katie Nicholl reported that, according to sources, “not even the Prince and Princess of Wales were made aware that the meeting was taking place.” A source close to Charles also told Nicholl the hour-long meeting was “completely cloak-and-dagger, orchestrated by the king.”
Meanwhile, William and Kate attended the DMI Royal Charity Polo Cup 2026 at Guards Polo Club in Windsor. The brothers did not see each other.
“Obviously, King Charles and Prince William are very different characters, sometimes with conflicting temperaments,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. “What no one can alter is that William, Kate, and their family are the future of the monarchy. And it is natural for the king, who is battling cancer, to want to see his grandchildren.”
Fitzwilliams argued that William made his disapproval clear on the day the king and queen saw the Sussexes by being absent from the reunion.
“William is making it clear that he has his own set of principles, his own set of rules about what is right and wrong,” Andersen said.
“He feels Harry has violated those rules one too many times. It’s not entirely personal. William has a strong sense of duty when it comes not only to his family but also to his country and his family’s place in history. He feels Harry has shot the royal family’s reputation full of holes. And for what? To become a SoCal influencer?”
“William feels Harry has betrayed not only the current generation of royals but also past generations, including their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and future generations,” Andersen added.
British royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that while reports of a fracture between Charles and William are overstated, the two are far from aligned on how to deal with Harry. Whether father and son can find common ground on Harry remains to be seen.
“Prince William is no fool,” Fordwich said. “Every time his zero-tolerance approach is proven correct, his influence increases.”
In May 2025, Harry told the BBC he would like to reconcile with his family.
“There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
