At the beginning of the year, there had been renewed hope that Prince Harry and King Charles could be set to mend their fractured relationship – but in recent months it seems their bond might be as fragile as ever

At the beginning of the year as 2024 dawned, there was an optimistic air about a possible reconciliation between Prince Harry and King Charles.

On Charles’ 75th birthday last November, the pair shared a warm phone call and when the King announced his cancer diagnosis in February, Harry dashed to be at his father’s side, albeit for just 30 minutes.

After, Harry talked about being grateful to see his father and hinted he had more trips to the UK on the horizon where he would see his family during an interview on US morning TV.

However, six months on from that visit, father and son have not been reunited. In fact, the bond between the pair appears to have reached breaking point with a series of stumbling blocks standing in the way of repairing their fractured bond…

After the father and son met up in February in the wake of Charles’ cancer news, many predicted another meeting between the estranged duo. It came as Harry visited the UK to attend a service at St Paul’s Cathedral for the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games on the same day the King was also in London – but in the end, there was no meeting between the pair.

This raised eyebrows at the time, with a statement from Harry suggesting his father was too busy to see him and reports later claiming the King had offered his son a place to stay at Buckingham Palace during his whistlestop visit to London. A source told The Times: “I don’t know what more the King could have done.

He offered Harry to stay at Buckingham Palace but that it seems even that wasn’t good enough. It was far from clear what the duke’s plans were. When it came to it there was no space in the King’s diary in between treatment and other scheduled events.”

Stumbling block

After this, last month, sources close to the Sussexes claimed that Harry’s calls to his dad are going unanswered as he tries to discuss his security arrangements with his father. The Duke has been embroiled in a long-running battle over his security when he comes to the UK after he automatically lost the right to his police protection when he stepped down as a working royal.

He has lost his subsequent court battles to have it reinstated for him, wife Meghan and their two children and is planning an appeal. According to PEOPLE magazine, Harry believes his dad could help to have this reinstated, although this has been dismissed as “wholly inaccurate” by a palace source.

And a friend of Harry’s told the magazine: “He gets ‘unavailable right now’. His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too.” While another friend added: “Harry is frightened and feels the only person who can do anything about it is his father,” while another source added: “Harry is determined to protect his own family at all costs.”

They added that the couple “didn’t feel they had a choice”. “The only option was to leave – for their sanity. I do think they thought if they got out of this bubble, there would be less focus on them,” the insider said.