Prince Charles is reported to be “deeply hurt” by Prince Harry’s recent accusations, putting their relationship at an “all-time low”.
Royal experts believe that Prince Charles and Prince Harry’s relationship has hit rock bottom since the latter quit as a senior member of the British royal family in March last year.
Sources tell The Sun that the Prince’s personal attacks against his father since he left the UK have forced them apart and left Charles “deeply shocked and hurt”.
Harry had said he feels “disappointed” and “let down” by his father after he stopped taking his phone calls and did not provide enough emotional and financial support when he and Meghan quit as senior royals.
Harry told chat show queen Oprah Winfrey, he had “literally been cut off financially” after deciding to step down, despite his dad giving him $3.76 million in the 2020/21 financial year, according to the publication.
The Duke of Sussex also said in a chat about mental health that when he and his elder brother Prince William were struggling with their royal life, their father told them: “Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you.”
Harry had said in his Apple+ podcast “The Me You Can’t See” that: “He(Prince Charles) treated me the way he was treated.” Noting that he moved to the US with his wife and son Archie to “break the cycle” of “pain” he suffered when he was growing up.
Matters worsened on Sunday when Harry claimed he had raised “concerns” about Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz, the Saudi tycoon at the center of a probe into donations to Charles’ charity.
It was reported at the weekend that Harry had taken a $94,000 donation for his Sentebale charity from Dr. Mahfouz in 2013. Billionaire Dr. Mahfouz later donated $2.8 million to Charles’ Prince’s Foundation and received an honorary CBE months later. The Charity Commission has launched an investigation.
It comes after Charles’ right-hand man, Michael Fawcett, quit as chief executive over “cash for honors” allegations.
On Sunday, Harry stated that he had cut ties with Dr. Mahfouz because of “concerns over his motives”. In an incendiary statement, he said he had no involvement in what he called the “CBE scandal”.
A spokesperson for Prince Charles told The Mirror: “The Prince of Wales has no knowledge of the alleged offer of honors or British citizenship on the basis of donation to his charities and fully supports the investigation now underway by The Prince’s Foundation.”
A friend of Prince Charle’s also told the Sun: “Charles is deeply shocked and disappointed by Harry’s latest statement which effectively threw his father under the bus.”
“There are fears that this episode with Mahfouz could even be a chapter in Harry’s autobiography. This attack was more damaging than the swipe at Charles’s parenting skills because this was a challenge to the way he conducts his business which is far more damaging to the future king,” the friend added.
Prince Harry is currently in the process of writing his own autobiography, and there are fears it may contain more allegations about the Royal Family. But the Prince of Wales is said to be “keeping a dignified silence” so the row doesn’t affect his future reign.
A friend of Charles said: “Charles very much loves his son and he will not be having a pop at Harry in return. It’s that simple. He is not going to join in because loving his son is the thing that matters the most.”
The father and son last spoke in person at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral eight months ago, and have exchanged only a few “fraught” phone calls since.
Prince Harry was in London in July to unveil the Diana statue but they did not meet and the future king has not yet met his six-month-old granddaughter, Lilibet.