King Charles Is Reportedly Clashing With Prince William Because He “Longs to Re-Embrace Harry”

For years now, the royal family has been plagued by drama amid Prince Harry's estrangement from many of his closest relatives. What started as speculation and rumors of a rift became confirmed fact in 2020 when Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle relocated their family to North America and stepped back from their duties as working royals.

Earlier this month, Harry sat down with his father, King Charles, for a 55-minute, one-on-one meeting that royal sources described as "super positive," "very relaxed," and "very emotional" and was largely seen as a tangible step in the right direction by those hopeful for a reconciliation between Harry and the rest of the royal family.

“It shows the way forward,” a royal insider, described as having "ties to both sides" told People. “It is a good starting point.”

It seems, however, that that not everyone is happy about the progress Harry and Charles reportedly made during their recent meeting.

According to the Daily Mail Harry's older brother, Prince William, is reportedly still opposed to welcoming the Duke of Sussex back into the royal family's inner circle—and that may be causing tension between the Prince of Wales and the King, the outlet suggests, citing insights royal author Tina Brown shared in a recent New York Times op-ed titled "The Quiet Triumph of King Charles III."

According to Brown, the King likely had multiple motives for meeting with his estranged son—some practical and political, and some more personal and emotional.

"Charles knows that in these times of ugly political discord, a fractured royal family is a bad look," Brown wrote. "But it was also the fulfillment of paternal longing. It’s no secret that Charles desperately misses his prodigal son who, in earlier days, was always the fun, ebullient scamp compared with the haughtier, more Hanoverian William."

As for William, Brown wrote that it's "understandably enraging" for him to see Harry "bounding around the British charity circuit, doing a well-received side-dash to Ukraine and upstaging the photo ops of [his] own diligent engagements," particularly after the many critical statements Harry has made about the royal family in recent years.

Still, Brown said she's been told that Charles is "tiring of his elder son’s self-righteous intractability in the family feud" and "wants to re-embrace Harry" (assuming his younger son can "keep his mouth shut," that is).

According to the Daily Mail, royal sources claimed after Charles and Harry's recent meeting that Harry now plans to return to the U.K. "four or five times year" for "public events" for his own charitable work and even, potentially, in support of the royal family.

While Harry did confirm in an interview with The Guardian shortly after the meeting with Charles that he would like to visit the U.K. more often and is more open than ever to bringing his children along for future visits, it's unlikely that he will resume duties as a working royal.

Recent reports suggest that Harry "is not seeking a change to the arrangement over any royal work" and "hasn't asked his father for it" and that the King wouldn't entertain the idea even if Harry were to push for it.

“The King has been absolutely clear in upholding his late mother’s decision that there can be no 'half-in, half-out' public role for members of the family,” a royal source said, according to The Times.