King Charles is refusing to disown Prince Harry over the royal race row – and believes he can still mend their fractured relationship. He is broken-hearted by the latest claims to rock the family, but has vowed never to bow to pressure to cast him adrift.
A close confidant, who has known the Royal Family for six decades, told the Sunday Express that His Majesty will never give up on Harry, his wife Meghan and their two young children. The source said: “He doesn’t want to lose contact completely with Harry, because as a parent and grandparent his heart remains committed to them.”
But the King has been deeply hurt after two senior royals were named in the Dutch-language edition of Omid Scobie’s book Endgame. This version has since been withdrawn.
It has deepened the animosity with his son, but he feels parenting rather than punishment is the best way to build bridges. The insider said: “It is a tricky time for Charles, but his overriding decision is that he will not completely cut off the Sussexes.
“Allegations in the book – whether or not endorsed by Harry and Meghan – are troubling for the image of the Palace but, frankly, Charles doesn’t want to go silent with Harry. They may communicate very little, but a lifeline remains.”
The Royal Family will put on a united front this week as they close ranks in the wake of the furore. The King will appear alongside elder son Prince William and his wife Kate to “keep the show on the road” for a glittering diplomatic ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
He will consult senior advisers in the next few days to decide what steps to take after the Dutch edition of the book, which was withdrawn from sale, named two senior royals it said had been identified in a letter by Meghan to Charles over claims “concern” was expressed about her future son’s skin colour.
Buckingham Palace is said to be “considering all options” – including the possibility of legal action. The Express is refusing to name the two senior royals because there is no proof of what they may have said. Royal aides have carried out an internal investigation into who could have seen the letters.
Revelations of apparent racism and so-called “unconscious bias” in the book Endgame have reopened old wounds which began when Meghan and Harry made the claims during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021. However, they stopped short of ever naming anyone.
The book points to a letter sent to Charles by then pregnant Meghan naming the two Royals she claims raised concerns about what colour Prince Archie’s skin might be. Scobie has not explained how he had obtained such specific details about the note. It’s been claimed the names were then mistakenly included in the Dutch version.
Our royal insider revealed the King’s “heart is certainly breaking” at the separation and animosity with his beloved son. Scobie has insisted that Harry and Meghan did not brief him for Endgame, but revealed “people around them” were happy to tell all about “the ins and outs” of their rows with the Royal Family. No official comment has come from the couple.
Our source explained that the King is staying level-headed. They said: “Over-reacting to this would only escalate matters. He is hurt at this allegation, but wants to move on as soon as possible.”
The insider added that Charles’ interactions with his youngest son and his family remain limited, saying: “Following The Sussexes’ Netflix and Spotify deals, Charles has steered clear of having major in-person [meetings] or phone call, fearing that info could be published or aired.
“And around Charles there is an enormous amount of shock at this book and the claims being made public. Some aides feel that the Sussexes are somehow behind this all, especially given that Meghan admitted she’d briefed Scobie in the past.”
During a privacy and copyright legal case against a British Sunday newspaper in late 2021 Meghan apologised in court for failing to remember authorising a senior aide to brief the authors of her and Harry’s unofficial biography. Meghan submitted a statement to the court in which she said she could not remember emails between her and her then press secretary, Jason Knauf, about the unauthorised book.
Our source added: “There is a lot of distrust among staff and aides about this, because the concern is that without a rebuke from any party it would stand as a matter of fact. One senior figure is very on edge that this simmering problem could deeply impact Charles’ world standing. Some people are highly strung about this all.”
Concerns have been raised that the rift could now sever the father-son relationship entirely. Royal commentator Richard Fitz-williams said in a newspaper yesterday: “Charles and Harry’s relationship was at an all-time low before but this may have fractured it beyond all repair. It could spell the endgame for them.”
The source added: “Charles’s head and experience adopts the approach of just move forward and ignore the noise. His heart is certainly breaking that this incident is another drama between Harry and him without any face to face resolution.” And another source claimed: “It is quite frankly a disgrace that this book has come out.
