A source close to the palace has revealed that King Charles III is reportedly feeling “sad and bewildered” by the legal actions taken by his son, Prince Harry, against a British newspaper group and his ongoing criticism of UK institutions.
Prince Harry, who has distanced himself from royal duties, is currently involved in a lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers, accusing them of utilizing illegal phone hacking methods to publish numerous stories about him from 1996 to 2011, causing him distress.
During a recent court appearance, Harry’s 55-page witness statement expressed his belief that the state of the press and government in England had reached “rock bottom,” going against the constitutional requirement for the royal family to remain “above politics,” as reported by The Sunday Times.
Having stepped down from his royal responsibilities three years ago and relocated his family to California, Prince Harry cited the pressures of their public roles and alleged biases against his biracial American wife, Meghan Markle, as reasons for his decision.
In a memoir titled “Spare” released earlier this year, Harry detailed his efforts to dissuade his father from marrying Queen Consort Camilla, whom he viewed as a “wicked stepmother.”
Despite being fifth in line to the throne, Harry did not meet with Charles or his brother Prince William during his recent visit to the UK for the trial and reportedly has not been invited to his father’s 75th birthday parade later this week.
The palace insider disclosed to the Sunday Times that Charles often brings up Harry during their conversations and expressed feelings of sadness and confusion, with increasing frustration over his behavior.
The insider stated, “The King brings Harry up every time I see him. I don’t think we’ve moved past sad and bewildered, but there’s a bit more frustration at his behavior because it just keeps going.”
According to the report, Harry did not consider legal action against the newspaper group until he met lawyer David Sherborne in 2018, who convinced him of the validity of his case.
Additionally, the palace insider revealed that Harry had not previously raised concerns about phone hacking with courtiers when the contentious articles were published and has not provided concrete evidence of journalists employing such practices.
The insider expressed, “I think he’s been sitting in the Californian sunshine for a long time, hanging out with James Corden [the actor and TV host] and has lost all the instincts on how to do this, how to conduct himself carefully, still as a member of the royal family.”
“He’s lost the knack of what he can and can’t say and there is no one around him to say, ‘No, Harry, you can’t say that, take that bit out’. It’s embarrassing for him and for Britain, for a prince to be saying, ‘We’ve got a s**t government.’”
“I think he is seeking inner peace and this becomes the target … he thinks if he can bring the media to heel, it will cure his pain. Sadly, I don’t think it will. He’s still defending his mother,” the courtier told the paper.
“Nothing will take that pain away.”
