Princess Diana's Voice Coach Weighs in on Prince Harry's Estrangement From Prince Charles

As speculation continues regarding Prince Harry's relationship with his family, a source close to his late mother, Princess Diana, is weighing in. In a new interview with Us Weekly more than a year after Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down as senior royals, Stewart Pearce, Diana's former voice coach, revealed the couple is still "troubled" by the lack of support they received from the British royals, including Prince Charles, though there is hope for reconciliation.

Speaking with the outlet just a month shy of what would have been Diana's 60th birthday, Pearce provided new details about not only the father-son conflict but also the couple's apparent fallout with the family. Pearce explained that Harry and Markle "were 'troubled' by the lack of support received from the 'men in grey suits,' namely the household staff." Making matters worse, he said, was "the unfortunate lapse of contact with his father," whom Pearce noted is "well known for distancing himself from emotional heightened situations as he is a very caring, sensitive man, and therefore chooses to wait to let strong feelings settle down before responding."

Although speculation regarding Harry's relationship with his family across the pond has been ongoing ever since he and Markle announced in January 2020 their decision to step down as working royals, it came to the forefront of discussion in March following his and Markle's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey. Making several claims throughout the 90-minute discussion, Harry candidly discussed the status of his relationship with his father, revealing that his father "stopped taking my calls" shortly before he and Markle announced their exit as senior royals. Adding that "there's a lot to work through," he said, "there's a lot of hurt that's happened" and said he would "continue to make it one of my priorities to heal that relationship."

Although they reunited in person in April at Prince Philip's funeral, sources have claimed the father and son still have plenty of differences to work through. However, Pearce suggested that the June 4 birth of Harry and Markle's second child, daughter Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, could serve to help spark a reconciliation. Pearce said, "babies always bring inordinate love, joy and hope and so yes." While it is unclear if Charles has met his fifth grandchild via video call, he did recently gush over the youngest royal, stating Tuesday that the birth was "such happy news." According to Hello!, Harry will have the chance to further work through his rift with his father when he reunites with Charles and big brother Prince William in July to attend the unveiling of a statue of his late mother.