Jobson: Prince Harry ’caused some disquiet by taking it upon himself’ to visit his dad

9 months ago 43
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Well, King Charles’s biographer has done it, he’s managed to turn “Prince Harry traveled 14 hours to see his cancer-stricken father” into a “this is why Harry is the worst” story. Robert Jobson’s phone line must have burning up with all of the tips he got from Queen Camilla and Buckingham Palace senior staffers, all of whom sound incandescent about Harry’s whirlwind 25-hour trip to London. They are truly begrudging a loving son for his desire to see his father in person in the middle of a serious medical situation. These same “sources” would have been screaming to Jobson about Harry’s rudeness and insensitivity if Harry had not come to see his father too. Anyway, here’s Jobson’s latest in the Mail:

It’s easy to forget that the bond between King Charles and Harry, his ‘darling boy’, was once a source not just of affection but joy – a relationship even warmer than that between Charles and William, perhaps. The distance between them has now grown to the point that their conversations, where there are any conversations, have become mere echoes of the past. We have seen this, poignantly, in the last few days when, learning of his father’s shock cancer diagnosis, Harry jumped on a plane and flew 5,500 miles to see him.

Charles was widely reported to have been ‘touched’ by the gesture. Perhaps he was. Yet I am told that the reality is both more complex and more troubling – that Harry caused some disquiet by ‘taking it upon himself’ to fly over unbidden and at such short notice.

Put bluntly, the King was unhappy about what amounted to a fait accompli served up by an emotional but well-meaning son.

Charles just needs peace and quiet right now and had planned to fly off to the tranquillity of Norfolk with his wife, the Queen, much earlier on Tuesday. Yet thanks to Harry’s intervention, their Majesties were left kicking their heels at Clarence House, their main London home, while they waited for the errant younger son to appear.

It is striking that Harry was not invited to stay at Clarence House or, indeed, at any other royal residence. So last-minute was the decision to fly, that he had to book a hotel room for the night. And if the Prince had expected to spend some ‘quality time’ at Sandringham House talking about the good old days, perhaps, or rebuilding the paternal bond, he will have been disappointed.

What was actually said between them, only His Majesty, the Queen and the Duke of Sussex know, but half an hour (I’m told it was a 30-minute meeting, not even 45) was hardly enough time to rebuild the many bridges reduced to cinders. Not after all that disparagement of the Royal Family, all the misrepresentation pouring out of Montecito for a fist-full of dollars. After barely time for a greetings kiss and perhaps a hug, the King was heading with the Queen to Buckingham Palace to board the monarch’s Sikorsjy S-76C helicopter.

I cannot blame Harry for flying over. Whatever soothing noises might come from Palace courtiers, his father’s diagnosis is a serious matter. However, the Prince should also spend some time reflecting on the stress he has caused the King, not least when he was coping first, with the loss of his own father, Prince Philip and then, of course, his late mother, the Queen. Who could be surprised if Harry were welcomed with something short of open arms?

This impromptu visit, while well-intentioned, has served as a sad reminder of the continuing rift within the family, a burden Charles can ill afford in his current state when all his energy must be focused on the challenge of his health.

[From The Daily Mail]

TL; DR version: Harry was damned if did, damned if he didn’t. Harry visits his father, his father is unspeakably rude to him, and it’s “well, it’s Harry’s fault!” Harry doesn’t visit his father, and it’s “how dare he not come and personally change his father’s bedsheets!” As I said, Harry did what he did for himself, to do the right thing and know that he made the effort and he has a clean conscience. Charles is doing what he does best – bitch and moan about his son interrupting his busy schedule of traveling between palatial estates because Harry dared to take a 14 hour flight just to see him. Harry boxed them in – they look like complete a–holes for the way they’ve treated Harry and then having the audacity to complain about his visit after the fact.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

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  3. Jobson: Prince Harry ’caused some disquiet by taking it upon himself’ to visit his dad

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