Prince Charles’s Response to Prince Harry’s Podcast Comments Is Not a Positive Sign

Prince Charles reportedly does not plan to publicly respond to his son Prince Harry‘s latest comments on life as a member of the Royal Family. Earlier this month, Harry appeared on actor Dax Shepard‘s Armchair Expert podcast, where he discussed how he plans to parent his children differently from his father. The Duke of Sussex also compared life with his family to The Truman Show, the Jim Carrey movie about a man who slowly finds out he lives in a reality TV show.

“When Prince Charles was asked if he was aware of his son’s podcast today on an engagement, he pointedly refused to answer,” royal expert Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight on May 16. One source said Harry’s comments comparing life in the royal family to living in a zoo “hurtful” to his relatives who do not think he should be “complaining.” They are “distressed and angry,” especially since the interview was published less than a month after Prince Philip’s funeral when the family attempted to show a united front to support Queen Elizabeth. Another source said there was “confusion” among family members who did not understand why Harry is discussing these feelings publicly “when this is one of the things Harry objected to so much himself.”

Nicholl predicts that the Armchair Expert interview will only slow any attempts at reconciliation between Harry and his older brother, Prince William. She reported that Charles is “really keen” to mend the relationship with Harry, but Harry’s latest critiques didn’t help. Charles is “prepared to work with it, but that issue of trust is one that concerns him as much as it does William,” Nicholl told ET. “They want to know that the conversations they are having are going to remain private, and they want to know that these conversations are worthwhile and that they are making progress.”

Harry isn’t expecting a response from the family, Nicholl explained. “They really have been rendered voiceless and, to a degree, quite powerless, but I think there is always, of course, two sides to every story,” she said, adding that she believes Harry is “very pleased” with how the podcast turned out and reached a younger audience. “My understanding from Prince Harry’s team is that he is pleased with how it’s been received, certainly in America and that he predicted and anticipated there would be this type of backlash in the British press,” she explained.

Aside from his Truman Show remark, Harry told Shepard he planned to raise his children in a different manner than his father raised himself and William. Harry said Prince Charles passed down a “cycle” of “genetic pain and suffering” to him. “When it comes to parenting if I’ve experienced some form of pain and suffering because of the pain and suffering that perhaps my father or parents suffered,” Harry said, adding that he will “make sure” to “break that cycle.” Harry and his wife, Megan Markle, are expecting their second child. Their first, Archie, celebrated his second birthday earlier this month.