Prince Harry<\/strong>\u2019s Sept. 10 sit-down with his estranged dad, King Charles III<\/strong>, appeared to go off without a hitch. The two men, who hadn\u2019t seen each other since February 2024, had tea at Charles\u2019 Clarence House residence in London and chatted amicably for nearly an hour. A few days after the promising get-together, Harry told The Guardian<\/a><\/em> he was hoping to spend more time in the U.K. in the not-so-distant future.<\/p>\n Then the whispers began. Initially, there was talk that Harry, 41, was going to be welcomed back as a working royal on a part-time basis based on how well his reunion with Charles, 76, went. Then royal insiders told The Times<\/a><\/em> Charles had made it clear that Harry, 41, could never have a \u201chalf-in, half-out\u201d royal role. (Original reports suggested Harry could help \u201clighten the load\u201d for Charles \u2014 a clear dig aimed at Harry\u2019s brother, Prince William<\/strong>, 43, amid growing tension between Charles and the future king about how to run the monarchy.)<\/p>\n Soon after, The Sun<\/em><\/a> cited sources claiming Harry had complained about his meeting with Charles (who is fighting cancer) behind the scenes, describing it as overly \u201cformal\u201d and saying that he felt more like an \u201cofficial visitor\u201d than a cherished family member. Harry quickly hit back through a spokesperson, saying the claims were \u201ccategorically false\u201d and invented by \u201csources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son.\u201d On Sept. 27, The Daily Mail<\/a><\/em> reported Harry had lashed out against \u201cthe men in gray suits\u201d \u2014 better known as royal courtiers, the highly influential staffers and members of the royal household who support the monarchy and often control the narrative from behind palace doors \u2014 for interfering in his relationship with Charles.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an all-out war between Harry\u2019s camp and William\u2019s camp as courtiers from both sides work furiously to disparage the other. \u201cWilliam is one of the people working against Harry. And Harry has his own palace sources who are helping him,\u201d a source tells Star<\/em>. \u201cThere\u2019s always been court intrigue, and it\u2019s still alive and doing its thing in 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n Harry has made no secret of his distrust of the royal court. In his 2023 memoir, Spare<\/em>, he wrote he\u2019d spent his life \u201cdealing with courtiers, scores of them\u201d before contending with a trio of them in 2020, when he and wife Meghan Markle<\/strong>, 44, left their royal duties. \u201cAll middle-aged white men,\u201d he wrote, \u201cwho\u2019d managed to consolidate power through a series of bold Machiavellian maneuvers.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.starmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/MEGA1341359_026-scaled.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.starmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/MEGA1368807_001-scaled.jpg\")
In Control<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/staging.starmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/MEGA1374822_014-scaled.jpg\")