King Charles is said to have been left “saddened” after a spokesperson for Prince Harry suggested that palace insiders were trying to “sabotage” efforts to repair their fractured relationship.

It’s been a turbulent few years for the father and son. Ever since Harry stepped down as a senior royal in 2020 and relocated to the United States with Meghan Markle, tensions have only grown — especially following the Duke’s memoir Spare and his series of revealing interviews and documentaries that cast a harsh light on the royal family.

Earlier this month, however, there seemed to be a glimmer of progress. On September 10, Harry and his father finally reunited for the first time in 19 months. Their previous meeting had been back in February 2024, when Harry rushed from California to London after the King’s cancer diagnosis.

The long-awaited reunion took place at Clarence House and lasted just under an hour. But according to The Sun, the encounter was “more formal than expected,” with Harry reportedly feeling as though he was being treated like “an official visitor” rather than family. The outlet claimed the meeting felt “awkward” and “ceremonial,” similar to an audience with dignitaries.

Harry was said to have described the meeting as “very official, like an official visit.”

Following the report, a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex hit back, calling the claims “pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.”

In a statement released on September 27, Harry’s team also corrected one of the report’s key details — regarding the exchange of gifts. While The Sun claimed that a framed photograph of Harry, Meghan, and their children had been handed over, the spokesperson clarified: “While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over, however, the image did not contain the Duke and Duchess.”

An earlier statement from the Duke’s office to The Sun had emphasized that Harry’s visit was focused on “his patronages and supporting his good causes while also having time to catch up with family and friends.”

However, the latest allegations have reportedly disappointed the King. According to a Buckingham Palace source speaking to The Telegraph, Charles was “saddened” by the suggestion that his aides were deliberately undermining reconciliation efforts.

“It’s very sad,” the source said, “especially because everyone has been working hard behind the scenes to make the private relationship work.”