Royal expert Ingrid Seward believes she has insight on King Charles III’s major regret when it comes to his younger son, Prince Harry. In a new interview with Fox News Digital, Seward explained that the king feels he was not “strict” with his sons. She attributed this to their mother, Princess Diana.
Seward is currently promoting her new book My Mother and I, a biography about the relationship between King Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, and how it has affected the British royal family over the decades. The book comes out in August, but in the meantime, Seward shared some of her findings with Fox. She said: “Prince Harry and King Charles were very, very close. They got on incredibly well. I think Charles probably regrets that he wasn’t strict with Harry and William.”
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Seward said that Princess Diana had a “freestyle” approach to parenting when Prince William and Prince Harry were first born, and that the king simply went along with this philosophy up until Diana’s death in 1997. She said: “Diana allowed them to do, more or less, what they wanted, which was very fashionable in those days. You let children just get on with things. I think Charles probably regrets that he wasn’t a bit stricter, because it might’ve given both boys a few more boundaries.”
“Children all need boundaries, and I don’t think they had too many,” Seward continued. Buckingham Palace has not commented publicly on Seward’s insights, though some reporters have contacted the institution for comment. As for Prince Harry, he has been very open when it comes to his family dynamics over the last few years, ever since he stepped down as a senior royal in 2020 and moved to the U.S.
Just this year, Prince Harry flew to the U.K. as soon as he learned that his father had been diagnosed with cancer. He then joined Good Morning America for an interview where he said: “Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.” When asked if this ordeal might have a “reunifying effect” for him and the other royals, Prince Harry said: “Yeah, I’m sure.”
Prince Harry’s relationship with his brother is much less certain, and there are conflicting reports about their status coming out all the time. So far, Prince Harry has not visited Prince William or his wife Kate Middleton since the Princess of Wales was diagnosed with cancer, but they may have a chance to get together next month. There’s no telling whether they’ll take it.
