King Charles was overheard criticizing his son behind his back after Prince Harry left Clarence House, where the long-awaited private meeting took place. However, before Harry ever set foot into the building, the King already had a plan in place to publicly shame his son, putting him on blast as a non-royal guest. This shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone, seeing how Harry was the one who gave up his position to chase the American dream with Meghan Markle. Still, King Charles wanted to make sure Prince Harry knew what sort of ‘private meeting’ this would be.
The Duke of Sussex allegedly went into the meetup thinking it was his chance to lay out all of his demands to his father, particularly on Meghan Markle’s behalf. However, upon his arrival, Prince Harry was forced to enter the estate through the visitor’s entrance, instead of the one used by members of the Royal Family. According to The Sun, that gate would be the one on The Mall, which was used earlier by the Duchess of Edinburgh, who left 20 minutes before Harry arrived. When the ex-royal son left, he also took the visitor’s entrance, which fans claim were certain was an intentional move by King Charles.
Charles Gave His Son the Visitor Treatment, Rather than Royal Family
“Imagine how he [Harry] feels being downgraded like that. He knows the protocols and knows he’s being rejected BIG TIME,” remarks a commenter on Reddit. “It’s less about the door and more about the very public, deliberate message being sent to him and the world. No more royal perks,” adds another. A third pointed out how defeated and sad Harry looked as he was driven away from Clarence House. The Prince knew that he had failed in his attempt to sway his father to his requests. The King didn’t look much happier either. As one person put it: “He doesn’t look like a King about to bring the wayward Prince home. He looks like a father grieving a relationship that will never be.”
Despite King Charles’s clear intention of putting Prince Harry in his place by forcing him to use the visitor’s entrance, many fans of the Royal Family felt like Charles still should not have let Harry see him in the first place. “Bad move by KC for his own public approval & the stability of the Monarchy,” comments an online user. “I’m so disappointed in Charles. The Wales deserve more loyalty. As do the people of the UK,” chimes in another. Plenty more put in their thoughts on the King making a “big mistake” of granting Harry a visit. Still, the King doesn’t have a lot of time left, so Charles probably thought it best to see his wayward son, even if it meant public criticism.
