Historian Claims Harry’s Feud with His Family Will Affect King Charles’ Legacy: 'His Role...'

Prince Harry has continued to criticize the royal family in numerous interviews since stepping down from royal duties. Most recently, the Duke of Sussex, in his BBC interview, claimed that his estranged family was behind the removal of his state-funded security to discourage his move to the US. Weighing in, several royal experts now believe that Harry’s ongoing beef with his family might severely damage King Charles’s legacy.

A New York Times article recently dissected Harry’s discontent with his father and brother, Prince William. The piece quoted royal historian Ed Owens, who claimed that the King has “had the wind taken from his sails” over the ongoing conflict with Harry. Things reportedly have only taken a turn for the worse when the Duke told the BBC he hopes for a reconciliation with his family, given the uncertainty about how long Charles might have left to live. Owens added, “There is an overhang in the way we see Charles’s reign. It hasn’t really gotten going, nor are we sure how long it will last.”

Owens argued that Charles’s reign is shaping up as both eventful and oddly unchanging in its core narrative: that of a beleaguered father managing a messy brood. Commenting on the same, former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt told the outlet, “When history comes to be written about the King, this will reflect badly on him. He represents an institution that is about family, unity, and fostering forgiveness. His role is to bring people together, and yet he can’t bring people together on his doorstep.”

Owens also said of the Prince of Wales, “William has sometimes been seen as work-shy, but we see him gravitating toward bigger, more media-friendly events. He’s burnishing his reputation as a statesman.” As for Charles, Owens noted that the monarch has embraced his duties with a zeal that royal watchers say is either evidence of a robust recovery or the mark of a man who knows he has limited time. Charles was diagnosed with cancer in February 2024, merely 16 months into his reign. Given his and Queen Camilla’s upcoming visit to Canada this month, nothing in the King’s calendar suggests he is slowing down.

As for the Duke of Sussex, a friend of the monarch told The Sun that Charles is ‘frustrated and upset’ at Harry’s repeated public airing of grievances. The source added, “And for his supporters to suggest that somehow his father doesn’t care about his family, or should step in. He’s been particularly concerned that it has taken considerable resources and cost for the Government to defend their position.” As per reports, the King has ‘zero trust’ in Harry after the scathing BBC interview.