Royal R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
King Charles III was left “frustrated and upset” by his son Prince Harry’s alleged “failure to respect” his difficult position during the Duke’s fight to win back government-provided security in the UK, according to a new report.
Harry, 40, lost his legal bid on appeal Friday after telling a London court last month that he had been singled out for “unjustified and inferior treatment” when he and his family were stripped of their taxpayer-funded security detail in 2020 once his and wife Meghan Markle’s stepped back from their roles as senior working members of the royal family.
The King, as Harry admitted to BBC in a bombshell interview after Friday’s ruling, has not spoken to his youngest child amid the court battle. However, a friend of Charles, who spoke to The Sun before the Duke of Sussex’s explosive sitdown aired, said the monarch was forced to remain silent out of “necessity” — something he supposedly doesn’t believe Harry understood.
“The King has always considered this was an issue for [the British government] and courts to resolve and that for him to intervene in any way would be constitutionally improper,” the insider allegedly told The Sun.
“What has frustrated and upset him on a more personal level is the Duke’s failure to respect this principle — and for his supporters to suggest that somehow his father doesn’t care about his family, or should step in, click his fingers, and demand a form of protection that the leading national experts on protection may or may not consider necessary on any given visit,” the friend added.
“He has been particularly concerned it has taken considerable resources and cost for the Government to defend their position.”
The source also remarked, “The King is at heart a loving and generous man. That love has been sorely tested by this case and so many other issues over recent times. But there is now a chance for his son to move forwards rather than dwell on past grievances.
“From his father’s perspective, the door has been shut by necessity while this painful issue played out through the proper judicial channels — but it has not been locked forever, nor the key thrown away,” the friend explained, referring to the radio silence between Charles and Harry.
Representatives for Prince Harry and Buckingham Palace did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
In his interview after the source spoke to The Sun, Harry insisted he didn’t want his father to intervene in the legal proceedings.
“I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs,” the prince told the BBC.
Though friends close to King Charles had earlier “raised the idea of a reconciliation,” according to The Sun, Harry’s interview is not likely to have helped assuage any tension between father and son, despite the Duke saying he wants “reconciliation” with his family.
“I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point continuing to fight anymore, life is precious,” Harry said.
Buckingham Palace subsequently issued a rare statement on Friday’s events after the BBC broadcast.
“All of these issues have been examined repeatedly and meticulously by the courts, with the same conclusion reached on each occasion,” a Palace spokesperson said of the decision to strip Harry of his security detail.
In a statement provided to The Post on Friday, the Duke of Sussex said, “This process has only ever been about ensuring my safety and that of my immediate family when we are in in the United Kingdom, so that we may safely visit my home country with the same level of security that other governments deem necessary for our protection.”
The prince added that he “attempted to resolve this issue privately, even offering to independently cover the costs of necessary and effective police protection in order to keep me and my family safe.”
He concluded by saying, “I remain committed to a life of public service. This has been and will always be, my life’s work, and when you strip away the noise, you’ll be able to hear, all I’ve been asking for is safety.”