Prince Harry ‘did not want to be in the same room’ as Queen Camilla when he spoke to the King about cancer diagnosis, sources claim
It is said that the Duke of Sussex did not want to be in the same room as the Queen when he spoke to his cancer-stricken father, King Charles III.
To write for The TelegraphCamilla’s friend and British journalist Petronella Wyatt said: ‘Harry, I hear, preferred not to be in the same room with his stepmother when he spoke to the King about his cancer diagnosis.’
The father-of-two flew to London from California last week to see his father for 30 minutes after the monarch’s surprise cancer revelation.
It’s no secret that Harry and Camilla share a troubled relationship after the duke claimed in his memoir Spare last January that his stepmother leaked stories about the royal family to the media to boost her image.
He also branded her “dangerous” and a “villain” and claimed she “sacrificed him” to improve her reputation.
The Duke of Sussex (pictured in 2022) reportedly did not want to be in the same room as the Queen as he spoke to his cancer-stricken father, King Charles III
Prince Harry flew to the British capital on a ten-hour flight from Los Angeles on Tuesday, arriving at Clarence House at 2.42pm.
The Duke, who has been estranged from his father and brother Prince William since leaving royal life, then quickly flew back to LA and was in Vegas the next day to give a speech at an NFL awards ceremony.
According to royal expert Robert Jobson, the King only saw Harry for half an hour during their meeting to keep his stress levels down.
He told The sun: ‘You don’t want his blood pressure to rise. The king is not doing well. Whatever type of cancer it is, he is undergoing treatment.
‘The best thing for him is calm. After the first kiss and hug: love you dad, I hope you get better soon. What issues will be addressed? Things that raise your blood pressure.”
Charles was said to have been ‘disappointed’ with his son’s portrayal of Queen Camilla in his book Spare, according to a report by The Telegraph in November.
In the memoir, Harry wrote of Camilla: “I have complex feelings about gaining a stepparent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar.”
Harry also said that he and his brother Prince William had “begged” their father, King Charles III, and then Prince Charles, not to marry Camilla because they feared she would become their “evil stepmother.”
The father-of-two flew to London from California last week to see his father (pictured with Queen Camilla) for 30 minutes following the monarch’s surprise cancer revelation
In a further blow, Harry described Camilla as ‘dangerous’ and a ‘villain’ who left ‘bodies in the streets’ in her desire to change the public’s perception of her.
In a TV interview to promote the book last January with Anderson Cooper on the CBS News show 60 Minutes, Harry expanded on his claims.
The Duke said: ‘She was a third person in their (my parents’) marriage, she had to rehabilitate her image.
‘That made her dangerous because of the connections she was forging within the British press.
“Because of the connections she was forging, there was an open willingness on both sides to exchange information.
“And with a family built on hierarchy, and with her on her way to becoming queen consort, that would leave people or bodies on the streets.”
Three months after the book’s publication in April, an aide told The Sunday Times of Camilla’s reaction to Harry’s claims: “It wasn’t stamping feet or grinding teeth – it was much more of an eye-rolling response.”
Camilla’s close friend Fiona Shelburne, Lady Lansdowne, also told the newspaper: ‘Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts.
‘But she doesn’t let it get to her heart. Her philosophy is always: ‘Don’t make a big deal of it, and it will be fine, least said, quickest mended.’
Meanwhile, it has emerged that King Charles is still hoping to visit Australia with Queen Camilla in October, despite his recent cancer diagnosis.
His continued treatment had cast doubt on his appearance in the country this autumn, but a Palace source said the monarch still hoped to complete the visit as part of a long-distance trip.
The visit is timed around the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Samoa and was confirmed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in early January.
Camilla speaks with Prince Harry at Buckingham Palace during Trooping the Color in June 2015
Charles, Camilla and Harry watch a flypast from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2005
Prince Harry speaks as Charles, Camilla and Meghan look on as they attend the 70th Anniversary of the Prince of Wales Patronage Celebration held at Buckingham Palace in May 2018
The source told the Telegraph: ‘We are continuing to plan but we are not at any stage of confirming the timing or dates as it is the first week of the King’s treatment. It certainly remains the case that he is hopeful that it will continue.’
The visit will be the first by a reigning monarch since Elizabeth II in October 2011 and the first by Charles since his accession.
The king announced last week that he would postpone all public duties while he undergoes treatment for an unspecified cancer.
His Majesty is well enough to hold a limited number of face-to-face meetings, sources say, but will spend most of his time recovering at Sandringham or Highgrove.
Charles continues to work behind the scenes on his red boxes of government papers and is also expected to return to London more or less weekly to hold his audience with the Prime Minister and receive further treatment and medical advice.