kids

The reason behind Prince Charles' alleged rift with Prince William and Prince Harry.

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Adult parent-child relationships are… tricky.

There have been many times my mother and I have not seen eye-to-eye, but as I’ve grown older and we’ve grown closer, we’ve come to learn that we are two very different women.

Imagine having to navigate your changing relationship with your parents in front of the entire world.

Imagine having to do so as part of the royal family.

Yeah, no thanks.

It’s no secret the royal family have had their fair share of, um, tense inner relationships, and Prince Charles’ relationship with his sons is one that has often been questioned.

 

They look pretty friendly here to me

Well, a palace source has spilled some tea on a rumoured rift between Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince Harry, and the statements are pretty devastating.

The anonymous insider told The Daily Beast that Charles 'disapproves' of his sons' popularity with the public, adding that they 'rarely see each other outside of official business'.

“They are very different people and they just don’t get on,” the source said. “It’s as simple as that. They rarely see each other outside of official business.”

The source pegged it down to a 'generational issue', adding that Charles 'hates' that the boys are seen as more relatable since opening up about the grief they experienced following the loss of their mother, Princess Diana.

Last June, Harry shed light on how he was affected by Diana's death in a touching interview with Newsweek.

“My mother had just died, and I had to walk a long way behind her coffin, surrounded by thousands of people watching me while millions more did on television,” Harry recalled.

“I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today."

The source also said Prince Charles disapproves of the boys' casual approach to royalty.

For example, William, Kate, Meghan and Harry all call staff by their first names, which Charles does not.

According to the source, this sort of behaviour makes the boys seem 'less regal' in Prince Charles' eyes.

Despite the claims from the source that Prince Charles and his sons are distant, he played a key role in Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle, stepping up to walk his daughter-in-law part way down the aisle following the public falling out with her father.

Harry has also said in the past that his father was 'there for him and Will' after Diana's death

“One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is to tell your children that your other parent has died," he said in the 2017 BBC documentary Diana, 7 Days.

The royal family was highly criticised after Diana's death for its perceived mistreatment of the 'People's Princess', who had struggled to fit the role of a royal and cope with her husband’s infidelity.