Prince Harry receives message of ‘unity’ as King Charles prepares for North America trip
King Charles, who is heading to North America next week, seemed to have delivered an important message to his estranged son, Prince Harry, using an old royal family tradition.
The royal family avoids making an express comment on any private matters, but is known to send subtle messages, such as well-timed photo-ops and honours, to declare where they stand on a particular matter.
This time around, it seems that the monarch is focusing on the message of unity as he exercised his soft power in a meaningful move for the royal family.
On Tuesday, Prince William and Kate Middleton hosted annual garden party at Buckingham Palace which was attended by key royals including, Prince Edward, Duchess Sophie, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall.
Meanwhile, the King and his wife, Camilla, were at another important meeting at Canada House, as they will be travelling to the country next week.
Prince Harry’s relationship with his father has been strained for the past few years but it got worse in the past few weeks following his explosive BBC interview.
While Harry said he was open to a reconciliation with his family, he did not shy away from making more accusations against the royals, which felt like a “betrayal” to Charles.
According to royal author Richard Fitzwilliams, Charles is using his soft power during this challenging time to show that the royals stand united.
“This is a testing time for the Royal Family, with King Charles battling cancer and the Princess of Wales in remission, whilst the Sussexes have resumed hostilities,” he told Express.co.uk.
Therefore, he said it was “highly significant to see so many members of the royal family at the Garden Party” which also happened to be the first Princess Catherine has attended in two years.
“A show of unity is especially important when an institution, the most significant for Britain’s projection of soft power, faces challenges,” he explained.
Fitzwilliams further noted that these parties bring focus on important matters like showing “recognition of philanthropic efforts, especially locally”.
