The palace has been left “saddened and perplexed” by Prince Harry’s latest claim that the institution is “sabotaging” the relationship with his father, the King.
The Duke of Sussex appeared to accuse courtiers of leaking information about a meeting with his father this month, amid reports that the prince had claimed “men in grey suits”, were responsible.
The news has been met with disappointment by friends of the King.
A royal source said: “The reality is that senior aides have been working behind the scenes to improve what is a delicate but important private family relationship.”
On September 10 the duke saw the King for what was described as “a private tea” at Clarence House. The 50-minute meeting was the first time that the King had met with his younger son for 19 months.
Afterwards, the duke appeared relaxed, telling guests at a charity reception in London that his father was “great”.
Prince Harry arriving at Clarence House for the meeting
BEN MONTGOMERY/GETTY IMAGES
However, a report appeared in The Sun on Saturday that said the meeting had been “distinctly formal”, with the duke reportedly describing the reunion as “very official, like an official visit”.
Harry’s office denied this and instead accused palace sources of “sabotaging” the reconciliation between father and son by suggesting that they had leaked the information to the press.
His spokesman said: “Recent reporting of the duke’s view of the tone of the meeting, is categorically false. The quotes attributed to him are pure invention — fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.”
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The Sun revealed that during the 50-minute meeting gifts were exchanged, including a framed family photograph, which included an image of the couple with their children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four.
The duke’s spokesman said that “presumably, those same sources” had revealed the detail of the gift to the press.
They added: “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.”
The duke has made no secret of the fact that he has long believed that “men in grey suits” at the palace have conspired against him and, previously, against his mother, the late Princess Diana.
In his memoir Spare, the duke accused three courtiers whom he named “Bee, Wasp and Fly” of acting to force him out of his royal role.
“I’d spent my life dealing with courtiers, scores of them,” he said. “But now I dealt mostly with just three, all middle-aged white men who’d managed to consolidate power through a series of bold Machiavellian manoeuvres.”
He used the autobiography, and interviews to publicise the book, to criticise members of his family including his stepmother the Queen and his brother and sister-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales.
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The latest fallout could prove damaging as it threatens the fragile reunion between the King and the duke with apparent hurt and distrust on both sides.
This year details of a private meeting in London between the King’s head of communications and two of Harry’s aides were leaked to a Sunday newspaper.
The duke is said to want to come back to the UK “four or five times” a year but reports suggesting that there could be future public joint engagements between himself and the King were quickly quashed by the palace.
Reacting to the suggestion that the duke could play a more formal position within the royal family, a palace source said that could be no “half-in, half-out” role.
In summing up the latest dispute, one source echoed the words of the late Queen Elizabeth: “Recollections may vary.”