NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
As King Charles<\/a> sat on a throne carved from Windsor trees at Canada\u2019s Parliament on May 27, delivering a message of unity amid rising U.S.-Canada tensions<\/a>, his estranged son Prince Harry <\/a>was thousands of miles away in Shanghai<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Though briefly on the same continent, father and son remain emotionally worlds apart. \u201cThe True North is indeed strong and free,\u201d Charles, 76, declared \u2014 earning praise for his statesmanship, even as he continues weekly cancer treatments<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe could give a master class in diplomatic relations,\u201d Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story.\n<\/p>\n But another challenge looms \u2014 one no speech can fix: his fractured relationship with his son, who told the BBC in May<\/a>: \u201cI don\u2019t know how much longer my father has\u2026 He won\u2019t speak to me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The man Charles called his \u201cdarling boy\u201d was meant to be \u201cone of his reliable lieutenants he could call on to support the monarchy,\u201d says royal historian Dr. Ed Owens, author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?<\/a>\n<\/p>\n That vision unraveled in 2020 when Harry and Meghan Markle<\/a>, 43, stepped back from royal duties and moved to Montecito, California. The rift deepened with bombshell interviews, their Netflix docuseries and Harry\u2019s best-selling memoir Spare, which alleged a physical altercation<\/a> with Prince William<\/a>, 42.\n<\/p>\n King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on Dec. 25, 2018.<\/p>\n Samir Hussein\/Samir Hussein\/WireImage<\/p>\n While William remains firmly estranged from Harry and Meghan, some royal observers believe it\u2019s King Charles \u2014 head of the Church of England and a longtime advocate for unity \u2014 who should take the first step. But inside palace walls, hesitation reigns.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n At times, there has been a desire to reconnect \u2014 but \u201cthe underlying issue is trust,\u201d says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith. \u201cThe King and William don\u2019t trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Charles, insiders say, isn\u2019t surrounded by voices encouraging reconciliation. William has shown no interest in extending an olive branch, and Queen Camilla<\/a>, 77 \u2014 sharply criticized in Spare <\/a>\u2014 \u201cstays out of it,\u201d says a source. Even senior aides like Clive Alderton, also mentioned in Harry\u2019s memoir, are unlikely to push for a personal outreach.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere is not a good angel in his ear to say, \u2018Be a good dad and make the first move,\u2019\u201d says Valentine Low, author of the upcoming book Power and the Palace<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Despite Harry\u2019s call for peace, his BBC comments were widely seen as another blow. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t meant to be an attack, but it would be seen as one,\u201d Low says. \u201cIt makes Charles reaching out even harder.\u201d\n<\/p>\n And with the King still being treated for an undisclosed type of cancer, the stakes are growing. \u201cIf you have that level of breach in a family, and you are estranged, you run that risk every day of having something unfathomable to deal with,\u201d says Catherine Mayer, author of Charles: The Heart of a King<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Even before recent events, Charles and Harry\u2019s dynamic was complex. Harry, the son of a broken marriage, lost his mother, Princess Diana<\/a>, in tragic and public circumstances.\n<\/p>\n Amid the rift with his father, Harry spoke with his uncle Charles Spencer about changing his family\u2019s last name to his mother\u2019s surname, Spencer, but was told the legal hurdles would be too great.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThere is so much baggage there that the idea that one meeting would resolve everything is ridiculous,\u201d Mayer tells PEOPLE. \u201cBut having some contact would seem better than none.\u201d\n<\/p>\n At the heart of the dispute is security. Harry says losing his official protection endangers his family, making him unwilling to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie<\/a>, 6, and Princess Lilibet<\/a>, who turns 4 on June 4, to the U.K. He believes Charles can reverse the decision, but the palace says the courts have \u201cexamined [it] repeatedly and meticulously.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with their children, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie.<\/p>\n Netflix\/YouTube<\/p>\n Low warns that the split could \u201cpotentially damage [Charles\u2019] legacy.\u201d Still, he believes most people can separate the private drama from his public role: \u201cThis\u00a0is a family rift rather than a constitutional rift \u2014 it\u2019s what happens to families. Both sides have to reach a point where they realize they can\u2019t carry on as they are.\u201d\n<\/p>\n For now, father and son remain focused on their separate paths across the Atlantic. Harry, backed by a new communications team, is exploring new commercial ventures alongside his philanthropic work.\n<\/p>\n King Charles opens the 45th Parliament of Canada in Ottowa on May 26, 2025.<\/p>\n VICTORIA JONES\/POOL\/AFP via Getty<\/p>\n