Prince Harry has pointedly blamed his stepmother, Queen Camilla, for the ongoing rift between him and his father, King Charles. However, palace insiders assert that it is actually Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who is fanning the flames of discord behind the scenes.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were notably absent from King Charles's official birthday celebration, the Trooping the Colour, for the second consecutive year, a clear indication of the monarch's disfavor towards the couple. “But whenever Harry and Meghan are asked by their closest friends how this has all escalated so badly, they point the finger firmly at Camilla,” an insider revealed.
The couple is convinced that Queen Camilla has “poisoned” King Charles against them, encouraging him to exclude them from royal events. In his memoir, "Spare," Harry accuses Camilla of spreading negative stories about him and Meghan, and he remains suspicious that she continues to leak damaging rumors. “The longer this estrangement goes on, the more they see her fingerprints all over every nasty rumor that’s spread from within the palace,” the insider shared.
Meghan, according to the source, is particularly unforgiving and does not understand why Harry would consider giving Camilla a pass. “As right as Meghan may be, it’s an untenable situation because Camilla isn’t going anywhere,” the insider added.
Harry’s animosity towards Camilla dates back to her role as Charles’s mistress during his marriage to Princess Diana. “Camilla was a constant thorn in Diana’s heart, and for that Harry cannot forgive her,” explained the insider. This resentment only deepened after Diana's tragic death in 1997 and Camilla's subsequent marriage to Charles in 2005.
Royal sources suggest that Camilla may be influencing King Charles to keep Harry and Meghan at arm’s length. A courtier confided, “People in royal circles believe Camilla is the one whispering in Charles’s ear to shun Harry and Meghan. Why Meghan should be dropped, people can understand. She’s not well liked in Britain — but to avoid his own son, that seems especially cruel.”
The strained relationship was evident when Harry made a brief visit to London in February following King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. The reunion between father and son lasted only 30 minutes. Further, Harry’s representative had to admit that Charles’s schedule could not accommodate a visit in May when Harry returned to England for the Invictus Games, the event he founded for injured soldiers.
In stark contrast to Harry and Meghan’s absence from the Trooping the Colour, Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, made her first public appearance since her cancer diagnosis was revealed in March. Kate, battling ovarian cancer according to sources, has maintained her duties despite her health challenges.
A palace source speculated that Camilla preferred Harry and Meghan’s absence to avoid overshadowing Kate. “Of course, Camilla wouldn’t want Harry and Meghan attending such a public spectacle. It would upstage Kate,” the source reasoned. The courtier added, “Camilla knows Meghan and Harry are blaming her for everything. Still, she totally denies it and says they’re not worth the time of day.”
Despite the denials, Harry and Meghan remain steadfast in their belief that Camilla is the root cause of their strained relationship with King Charles. “Meghan and Harry are absolutely convinced if it wasn’t for Camilla, there’d be some form of a respectable relationship with King Charles. It’s no secret Camilla hates them,” the insider concluded.
As the royal feud continues to unfold, the blame game between the Sussexes and Queen Camilla only adds to the public intrigue surrounding the British monarchy. The dynamics within the royal family remain complex and fraught with tension, as each side maintains their version of events.