King Charles gives Prince Harry’s gift to Prince William instead

The King has marked the Duke of Sussex’s return to the UK with not one but two brutal decisions that did not go unnoticed.

The story of Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, is really one about suits.

Back in the day, when it had never been confirmed that feelings were something that members of the royal family actually possessed, the duke wore tailored smart numbers all the time.

Out would come one of the duke’s trademark grey J Crew suits as he trotted off to represent the crown on the world stage or to open a new paddling pool in Bury St Edmunds.

Then came the events of 2020 and BLAMO! Now, all Harry needs to do his job is a serviceable Uniqlo fleece and a round meeting table to ensure there are no visible representations of hierarchical power structures.

So, it’s nice to report today that not only is the Duke of Sussex back in London but one of those under-worn suits is, too, and tailoring have flown in for a series of events in support of his highly successful Invictus Games.

And while it’s a good day for neutral blazers, it’s a bit of a grey day for the 39-year-old.

King Charles has not only decided he does not want to see his son while he’s in the neighbourhood but is about to give Prince William a major gift that would otherwise have gone to Harry.

In other words, we’re talking about a double serving of paternal spurning.

First up, hot on the heels of Harry landing in Blighty for what will likely be more of a pit stop than a deep reconnecting with his roots and his former favourite lager taps, came the news that the King simply couldn’t make time to see his son.

A 2014 photo of Charles, Harry and William is a world away from the strained family dynamic that exists today. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Team Sussex seemingly wasted no time informing the press of Charles’ decision, with a spokesperson saying that a meeting “unfortunately, will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.

“The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

So, His Majesty isn’t exactly champing at the bit to spend 29-minutes or so, as he did in February, with Harry or to hear first hand about how Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s jam-making ventures are progressing.

This excuse - a “full programme” - is nearly impossible to buy given that Harry’s trip had been being discussed for months now. It’s impossible to see how, if the King really did want to spend some quality minutes of light shoulder patting and trying to wear his best listening face with Harry he could not have swung it, diary-wise.

To understand why the King has such a “full programme” look no further than Queen Camilla and the complicated business of loyalty.

The duke’s Netflix series and memoir Spare didn’t just detail the many failings and sins of Crown Inc and the King but of his wife of nearly 18-years too. Diana, Princess of Wales famously called Camilla “the Rottweiler” and Harry similarly painted as equally fanged, calling her “dangerous” and saying she had left “bodies…in the street” in her quest to be accepted by the British public.

Prince William, Prince of Wales, King Charles III and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex watch the coffin of HM Queen Elizabeth during The State Funeral Of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

These “outrageous comments about Camilla” have left Charles “in a very awkward position,” a friend of both Their Majesties has told the Daily Beast’s Tom Sykes.

The Queen was present when the King and Harry briefly met earlier this year and now the Express has reported that her presence at a possible meeting this week was “a bone of contention.”

There is another factor at play in His Majesty’s decision not to see the duke.

On Wednesday, as Harry is at St Paul’s Cathedral for a service to mark ten years of the Invictus Games, Charles will be making his big bells and whistles return to large scale public events at the first Buckingham Palace garden party of the season.

Any sort of meeting between the King and the duke would be liable to knock all the buoyant, bouncy PR about His Majesty back at making small talk with the great unwashed off of the front pages and we can’t have that now can we?

Also, as “a former courtier with good links to the palace” told Sykes: “Does Charles want to spend his political capital rehabilitating Harry, especially if Harry then uses that to enhance his commercial deals? That’s why a lot of us were sceptical that there was going to be some big heart to heart this week.”

However the King has more on his plate besides making his private secretary Sir Clive Alderton find a polite excuse to give the duke that was not a curt ‘no bloody way’ - His Majesty has got a rare joint public arrangement with other son and designated Good Boy Prince William to arrange.

Prince Harry sits in the front seat of his cockpit of an Apache helicopter at the British controlled flight-line in Camp Bastion on November 2, 2012 in Afghanistan. Picture: John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Monday will see father and son head off to the Army Aviation Centre in the delightfully-named Middle Wallop in Hampshire, where Charles will officially hand over his role as colonel-in-chief of the Army Air Corps to William.

Just to really drive home the Duke of Sussex’s complete and utter isolation out there in the farthest, dimmest, darkest reaches of the royal universe is the fact that, if it had not been for Megxit, Harry would have been a dead certainty to pick up this colonelcy. He actually served in the Army Air Corps in Afghanistan.

The images we are likely to see on Monday, of Charles and William yukking it up against a backdrop of fighter jets or other bits of billion-pound kit, will be landing right around the time that Harry and Meghan will either still be in, or have just left, Nigeria, for their dupe of a ‘royal’ tour.

Just imagine the pictures: In one lot, the fifth in line to the throne, fresh off being blanked by his family, doing some freelance, royal-lite events, while in the other, the sovereign and his heir will be palling about the place such that you’d think they have matching friendship bracelets.

Once upon a time, like right now in 2014 when Charles and William were on jubilant hand to support Harry’s first Invictus Games, he would have gotten one of those bracelets too.

Hopefully Meghan likes making beaded numbers - or will be selling them via her forthcoming American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand.

Daniela Elser is a writer, editor and a royal commentator with more than 15 years’ experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

Originally published as King Charles gives Prince Harry’s gift to Prince William instead