What to Know
King Charles’ strained relationship with his son Prince Harry has been getting so much attention over the past several years that it has apparently distracted from the fact that he doesn’t exactly have a close relationship with his son Prince William either.
According to a new report from Page Six, although the royal family drama involving Prince Harry tends to dominate headlines, William and Charles have their own tension as well. They’re perhaps just a bit quieter about it.
It seems to be a power struggle situation.
Considering the paths William and Harry taken in life, it makes sense that the relationships they have with their father look quite a bit different. Harry is no longer a working royal and has been living in the United States for years at this point, so there’s obvious distance there.
He has also been pretty open about his relationship with his father. In his 2023 memoir, Spare, he really spilled the tea. He has also opened up about his family during various interviews, which they do not seem to appreciate.
Meanwhile, Prince William is much less likely to publicly speak about family drama. He and his father also have a working relationship, which has apparently complicated things for them more than people realize.
Royal biographer Hugo Vickers told Page Six that William “thinks he knows best.” Understandably, this causes them to butt heads at times.
They still manage to get along.
Royal writer Robert Jobson noted that there’s some tension between Charles and William, but not any major issues that affect their ability to work together. They’re able to maintain a functional working relationship; they just disagree sometimes.
“There have been differences of opinion and a few problems a couple of years back,” Jobson said. “William has to rise above it all if he’s going to be king, and both he and Charles know they have to work together. There’s a lot of decisions that Charles will make that will affect William.”
In some ways, William’s personality might make things more complicated.
In February 2026, commentator Rob Shuter also wrote about the rumored tension between William and Charles. An insider told Shuter that William and Charles tend to “clash” at times because they’re actually “too similar to each other.”
“Both believe they’re right,” that insider claimed. “Neither backs down easily.”
Numerous reports have made it seem like Harry has been a significant source of stress for Charles. Interestingly, insiders claim that he actually finds William’s personality type more difficult to deal with. One source explained that while Harry is “emotional, reactive, and predictable,” William is “controlled,” “strategic,” and also quite “stubborn.” So, although it sounds like things are mostly fine between them, there’s definitely tension.
Strangely enough, some of the family drama has reportedly helped improve their relationship. In a new biography, royal expert Russell Myers wrote about how dealing with Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, leaving the UK and stepping back from royal duties actually “brought (Charles and William) ever closer together in recent years.”
Deciding how to handle the situation involving the former Prince Andrew and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein also reportedly brought them closer. An insider told Myers that Charles “loves both his sons equally,” but “his relationship with the Prince of Wales is something that has strengthened over the period of difficulty experienced by the family as external battles have occurred.”
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