Prince Harry Says Charles "Stopped Taking" His Calls

In a bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have revealed several never-before-been-shared details about their lives within the Royal Family— including the fact that they were married 3 days prior to their televised nuptials and what truly happened before they stepped back from their formal duties as senior royals.

One of the most shocking revelations includes the rift between father and son. In response to Oprah's question about whether or not the couple "blindsided" the Queen and Royal Family with their decision to move to the States and change their status in the Royal Family, Harry says that days before making the announcement, he had three conversations with the Queen and two with his father, Prince Charles—"before he stopped taking my calls," he said.

Oprah pressed him for details. "Why'd he stop taking your calls?" And after a pause, Harry said "Because at that point, I took matters into my own hands." He continued: "I needed to do this for my family. This is not a surprise to anybody; it's really sad that it got to this point, but I've got to do something for my mental health, for my wife's, and for Archie's as well."

Later in the interview, Prince Harry shared that his father is now taking his calls. But that doesn't mean their relationship isn't still in need of much repair:

"There’s a lot to work through, there. I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like. I will always love him. There’s a lot of hurt that’s happened. I will continue to make it one of my priorities to heal that relationship."

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Megan DiTrolio is the editor of features and special projects at Marie Claire, where she oversees all career coverage and writes and edits stories on women’s issues, politics, cultural trends, and more. In addition to editing feature stories, she programs Marie Claire’s annual Power Trip conference and Marie Claire’s Getting Down To Business Instagram Live franchise.