King Charles Is Forced to Rule With a ‘Damaged’ Family Monarchy After Drama With Harry and Meghan Doesn’t Let Up
King Charles took the British throne immediately following Queen Elizabeth’s death in 2022. While his official coronation didn’t happen until May 2023, Charles has already been ruling for more than a year, but it hasn’t exactly gone the way he planned.
For years, Charles knew that he would one day be king. But he always thought he’d have his two sons beside him ruling as more of a trio. However, things with Prince Harry have not improved since Harry left the family three years ago, and now Charles is forced to rule with a “damaged” family monarchy.
King Charles doesn’t have the monarchy he’d always wanted
When Prince William and Prince Harry were growing up, there was this idea that the two boys would be second-in-command to Charles when he someday took the throne. Although William is first in line to the throne, the three men had become quite the trio while the boys were growing up. However, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, left the royal family in 2020, and since then, Charles has started to realize he’s ruling in a completely different way than he prepared for.
Dr. Ed Owens, a royal historian, spoke to Express and explained how Charles’ vision of ruling is much different than the reality, saying that Harry’s “Spare” memoir ruined his relationship with his father in a way that it might not ever be repaired. “The story is a slightly tragic one as it has damaged this idea of a family monarchy,” Owens said. “[Charles’] idea that this is a united group who embody, if you like, the best of British family life.”
Dr. Owens continued, “Originally King Charles III’s reign was going to be based around him being supported by his two trusty lieutenants, William and Harry. But when that went so disastrously wrong in early 2020 because of Harry and Meghan’s decision to leave Britain, it really put paid to that vision of the family monarchy.”
King Charles’ picture-perfect family hasn’t existed for a long time
Of course, the monarchy wants to present itself as the pinnacle of family goals. However, Charles’ family life took a major turn in the late 1980s when his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles was made public. It ruined his marriage to Princess Diana, which was the first time that picture-perfect family life started to fall apart.
“King Charles is uniquely placed because he knows first-hand that the ideal of the family rarely matches the reality of the family monarchy,” Owens continued. It’s unclear if Owens was referring to Charles’ divorce from Diana, but it is clear that Charles’ family life hasn’t been perfect for many years. Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down was theirs to make, but what’s difficult is that no extended olive branches on either side have seemed to bring the family back in. Even Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, which showed promise when the Wales and Sussex couples did a walkabout together, failed to be the stepping stone to building a stronger family relationship. At this point, it’s unclear if Charles, Harry, and William will ever have a close relationship again.
