KING Charles’ second snub to Prince Harry was deliberately timed after years of relentless attacks, a royal expert says.
The monarch yesterday ruled out a face-to-face meeting with the duke while he’s in the UK, saying he was too busy.
Hours later, in another snub, the King revealed eldest son William would next week be taking charge of Harry’s former helicopter regiment.
The Monarch said that on Monday he will be at a ceremony to confirm the 41-year-old as Colonel-in-Chief of the Army Air Corps.
The event will take place in front of an Apache — the type of helicopter Harry flew when serving in Afghanistan.
And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams says this was no accident – and the King planned this after his son lobbed bombs at him for years.
Richard told The Sun: “This timing is deliberate. It’s to send a deliberate message to Harry that the Royal Family has not forgotten what has been happening over the last four years.”
The expert said it tracks back to when Prince Philip was in hospital – and the Sussexes’ explosive Oprah interview was broadcast to the world.
Richard continued: “Prince Philip was King Charles‘s father – he hasn’t forgotten that.
“That is just one very, very significant episode, because Oprah did enormous damage to the Royal Family and the Sussexes, as I say, knew exactly what they were doing.”
The expert said the King’s decision to announce his plan with Wills just hours after snubbing Harry was an extra dig.
Richard continued: “The facts are that he has an important link with the regiment, and the facts are also that there’s a ceremony next Monday which the King and the the royals do nothing by accident.
“There’s no question that it was meant to be a message to Harry. It’s been timed for now, quite deliberately.
“This rift is river deep and very, very public now.”
The expert said going forward, Harry should keep his plans – and meetings with the King – private, rather than announcing them to the world – as he did on Good Morning America.
Richard continued: “I don’t think that the King wanted Harry to go on television and talk even in general terms, about the family coming together.
“This was not only a private meeting, but had Harry kept it completely private and not made any comments, I think that would have been preferable.”
This timing is deliberate. It’s to send a deliberate message to Harry that the Royal Family has not forgotten what has been happening over the last four years.
Richard Fitzwilliams
It comes as The Sun’s Royal Photographer revealed he believed there was a way Harry could guarantee a meeting with his dad on his next visit to the UK.
Arthur Edwards also claimed the King could have found time – but he didn’t want to.
The Duke of Sussex jetted in from California yesterday for a service marking the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games St Paul’s Cathedral.
Arthur told The Sun: “It’s a great triumph that the King is back at work now and back to the grindstone.
“Obviously his time is packed and there’s so many things to catch up on.
“But I’m sure if he wanted to he could have found time to see Harry, but obviously doesn’t want to and Harry seems to have accepted it.”
Harry and Meghan betrayals
Oprah interview
Harry and Meghan’s explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey saw them make a series of bombshell revelations.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed no subject was “off limits” during the explosive chat in March 2021.
The interview unlocked a host of jaw-dropping remarks, racking up over 6,000 complaints from British viewers and even prompting a response from the Queen.
This included a claim that two royals allegedly questioned the colour of Prince Archie’s skin tone.
Meghan left jaws dropping after addressing her and Kate’s bridesmaid dress row after telling Oprah Kate made HER cry in the lead up to her wedding.
Meg told Oprah it had been difficult to see a “narrative that didn’t happen” surface after it was reported she left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
She instead told the chat show Queen: “The reverse happened.”
Spare
There was more to come in Harry’s book, as he recalled an alleged altercation with his brother William which ended with him falling into a dog bowl.
He also revealed how William disapproved of Harry’s marriage to Meghan and once called her “difficult,” “rude” and “abrasive.”
Harry’s father King Charles was also in the firing line for criticism. Harry laid into his father for not hugging him after the death of his mother, Diana, the late Princess of Wales, and claimed the King would often make jokes of “poor taste” about his paternity.
Kate, who Harry once hailed as the ‘sister I never had’, and stepmother Camilla were also not spared in the attack.
The Princess of Wales was accused of being cold towards her sister-in-law Meghan and claimed she was “disgusted” when Meghan asked to use her lipgloss.
He also partially blamed Kate and William for his decision to wear the controversial Nazi uniform to a fancy dress party in 2005, claiming they both “howled” when they saw him.
Netflix show
Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries lobbed bombs at The Firm – seeing it torn apart by royal experts.
To the shock of many it told stories of Meghan’s “jarring” first meeting with Princess Kate and Harry making digs at his father.
But, despite the attention it drew, it didn’t even rank in the top 200 most-watched Netflix shows from January to June last year.
The doc was pulled to pieces for giving examples of “truths”, which didn’t seem to stand up to reality.
As the privacy-loving couple whined about their struggles in the final part of their Netflix docuseries, they glossed over some important details.
Also, in an apparent dig at his dad King Charles’ parenting, Harry claimed he was “brought up” by friends in Africa.