Prince Harry and King Charles III’s relationship has been a rollercoaster for years, from the Sussexes’ Oprah Winfrey interview through to recent hopes that father and son will patch things up.

Tensions between the two royals date back to the earliest days of Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle and their clashes with the media.

Back then, Harry would ask Charles to step in and help rein in the tabloids while his father would reply: “Don’t read it, darling boy,” Harry wrote in his book Spare.

Private disputes only became public, however, from March 2021, when Harry told Oprah Winfrey, “my family literally cut me off financially,” by which he meant his father.

Oprah Winfrey and the Start of the Royal Bombshells

Perhaps the most high-profile allegation in the sitdown chat actually came from Meghan, who told Oprah an unnamed royal had “concerns and conversations about how dark [her unborn child’s] skin might be when he’s born.”

A cloud of suspicion immediately fell publicly over both Charles and Prince William, before the 2023 royal biography Endgame, by Omid Scobie, revealed that, in fact, it had been Charles who asked the question, in the presence of Princess Kate.

According to the book, after the interview was broadcast, Charles had written to Meghan to explain: “In those private letters an identity was revealed and confirmed: Charles. The king, sources say, wanted to respond to make clear to Meghan that there was no ill will or bias.”

Harry subsequently said, in January 2023, that Meghan had never accused the royals of racism, but rather unconscious bias. The prince also accused his father of cutting him off financially, and Meghan said the royals discussed denying their children prince and princess titles and police protection.

Prince Philip’s Funeral

If Oprah fired the starting gun on the public’s knowledge of a rift between father and son, the first major hope for reconciliation came a month later, after the death of Prince Philip, Charles’ father.

The prince flew to Britain for the funeral at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and was seen talking to first Princess Kate, then Prince William outside.

And in his book Spare, he wrote about meeting Charles and Prince William to try to clear the air, though back then the primary focus was on the damaged relationship between the two brothers.

“I’d vowed not to let this encounter devolve into another argument,” he wrote. “But I quickly discovered that it wasn’t up to me. Pa and Willy had their parts to play, and they’d come ready for a fight.

“Every time I ventured a new explanation, started a new line of thought, one or both of them would cut me off. Willy in particular didn’t want to hear anything. After he’d shut me down several times, he and I began sniping, saying some of the same things we’d said for months—years. It got so heated that Pa raised his hands.

“‘Enough!’ He stood between us, looking up at our flushed faces: ‘Please, boys—don’t make my final years a misery’.”

Prince Harry Brings Meghan to Britain

In April 2022, Harry and Meghan met Charles and Queen Camilla for tea on their way to the Invictus Games, at the Hague, in the Netherlands.

Author Katie Nicholls described the encounter in her 2022 book The New Royals: “The meeting with Charles and Camilla was more awkward than their cordial tea with the queen.

“The Sussexes were late, and Charles had just 15 minutes with his son and daughter-in-law before he had to leave for the Royal Maundy Service at Windsor Castle, where he was standing in for the queen for the very first time. While father and son are said to have greeted each other warmly, there were moments of tension.”

A family friend was quoted as saying, “Harry went in with hugs and the best of intentions and said he wanted to clear the air.

“He actually suggested that they use a mediator to try and sort things out, which had Charles somewhat bemused and Camilla spluttering into her tea. She told Harry it was ridiculous and that they were a family and would sort it out between themselves.”

Harry went on to give an interview to Hoda Kotb for Today at Invictus and swerved a question on whether he missed his father and brother: “At the moment, I’m here focused on these guys [the Invictus Games competitors] and these families and giving everything I can, 120 percent to them to make sure that they have the experience of a lifetime. That’s my focus here.”

Queen Elizabeth II’s Death

Harry returned to Britain in September 2022, and while there, Queen Elizabeth II experienced a sudden decline in her health and passed away on September 8 at Balmoral.

Even before her death, there were tensions as family members attempted to scramble up to the Scottish estate to say their final goodbyes.

Harry described in Spare receiving a call from Charles asking him not to bring Meghan with him: “He said I was welcome at Balmoral, but he didn’t want…her.

“He started to lay out his reason, which was nonsensical, and disrespectful, and I wasn’t having it. ‘Don’t ever speak about my wife that way.’ He stammered, apologetic, saying he simply didn’t want a lot of people around. No other wives were coming, Kate wasn’t coming, he said, therefore Meg shouldn’t. ‘Then that’s all you needed to say.'”

While Harry may well have been offended, Charles will have known in that moment he was preparing for the death of his mother and found himself on the receiving end of a sharp-tongued response from Harry.

Prince Harry’s Book and Eviction From Frogmore

In January 2023, Harry released his book Spare, containing scores of royal family secrets and some swipes, including at Queen Camilla, who Harry said “had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar” in the run-up to her February 2005 engagement to Charles.

In the aftermath of publication, Charles evicted Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, their U.K. home, a decision revealed by The Sun in February 2023.

Harry and Meghan’s spokesperson at the time said: “We can confirm the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been requested to vacate their residence at Frogmore Cottage.”

King Charles III’s Coronation

There was a glimmer of light, however, in the general downward trajectory when Harry made it to Britain for King Charles’ Coronation, though his visit was short-lived.

He arrived, attended the ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London, and then went straight to Heathrow Airport to return to America, even as Charles and Camilla were on the Buckingham Palace balcony wearing their crowns in public for the first time.

King Charles’ Cancer Diagnosis

Harry’s approach seemed to hit a turning point in February 2024 after King Charles announced he had been diagnosed with cancer. Harry jumped straight on a plane to Britain to see his father, but was given less than an hour with the king.

The prince returned to Britain again in May but did not get a meeting with his father, which his spokesperson at the time said was because of Charles’ schedule and “other priorities.”

Harry Reveals Rift With Charles Over Security Lawsuit

In May 2025, Harry finally, definitively lost a lawsuit he had filed against the British Government over the removal of his police protection team.

And in a BBC interview, he said the court case had damaged his relationship with the king: “I don’t know how much longer my father has. He won’t speak to me because of this security stuff.”

Prince Harry Has Tea With King Charles

More recently, though, things have been looking up for the relationship as Harry and Charles met for tea at Clarence House in September.

They spent less than an hour together, but in part because the meeting was squeezed in between diary commitments, and in fact, Harry arrived late to an engagement later that afternoon, perhaps as a result.

Hopes of a more peaceful relationship have been at a high in recent months, facilitated not only by the end of Harry’s police security lawsuit but also the fact he has not launched any major attacks on the reputation of the Monarchy since the release of his book in 2023, despite the odd disagreement.

Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.