For the King, it is a secret Christmas sadness. He has not seen his second son for almost a year and his two grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, for several years. The King misses Prince Harry desperately, but the reason for the lack of contact is understandable.
His advisers fear a new act of betrayal by Harry, 40, if he were to meet him face to face.
According to an updated biography of the King, Charles fears ‘legal jeopardy’ if he speaks to his litigious son.
He and his courtiers worry that if the King was to say something privately that Harry could then use in his court case fighting the loss of his taxpayer-funded security, the case would collapse. It wouldn’t just be awkward. It would be a disaster.
As monarch, it would be deep legal and constitutional jeopardy, as the King is both head of state and head of the judiciary.
It was the government’s decision to strip Harry and Meghan of their Metropolitan police bodyguards once they stood down as senior royals in 2020.
Since then, Harry has been fighting His Majesty’s government, in His Majesty’s law courts as His Majesty’s son.
Quite understandably the King does not want to have anything to do with it – and fears he could be betrayed if he spoke to his son.
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