Prince Harry's meeting with King Charles this week has ignited a briefing war between factions within the royal household who either support or oppose a reconciliation, according to royal experts. The Duke of Sussex spent time with his father at Highgrove on Friday, marking their second meeting in less than 12 months. Significantly, Harry's wife Meghan Markle, along with their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, were also present, as was Queen Camilla, whom Harry criticized in his memoir Spare.
Key Figures Behind the Scenes
Prince William's resistance to welcoming Harry back into the royal fold is widely understood. However, other influential figures behind the scenes reportedly harbor equal distrust towards the Duke. Among them is said to be the King's own private secretary, Clive Alderton. According to royal expert Tom Sykes, Alderton represents a faction of courtiers intent on keeping Harry at a distance from his father.
Sykes argues that these courtiers worry Charles is vulnerable when it concerns his son. They are understood to believe Harry and Meghan will seek to exploit his meetings with other royals for commercial benefit, as they have done previously. Alderton initially began working with Charles and Camilla in 2006 and has served as their private secretary since 2015. He became the 25th Private Secretary to the Sovereign when Charles ascended to the throne in September 2022.
The Wasp and the Gatekeeper
In his memoir Spare, Harry portrayed Alderton in distinctly unflattering terms as 'The Wasp'. He described him as "lanky, charming, arrogant, a ball of jazzy energy" and "great at pretending to be polite, even servile." However, he continued: "Because he seemed so weedy, so self-effacing, you might be tempted to push back, insist on your point, and that was when he'd put you on his list. A short time later, without warning, he'd give you such a stab with his outsized stinger that you'd cry out in confusion. Where the f*** did that come from?"
By contrast, another royal household member, Theo Rycroft, is reputed to be eager to see the damaging rift mended. According to Sykes, the former diplomat, who became the King's deputy private secretary in 2024, has his sights set on 59-year-old Alderton's position in the longer term. Rycroft was previously reported to have wished to "knock their heads together" to encourage Harry and Charles to reconcile. Identified as one half of a 'power couple' alongside wife Flora Astor by Tatler magazine, Rycroft is regarded as a "gatekeeper" to the monarch and was credited with arranging last year's meeting between the two.
Current Dynamics and Outlook
Rycroft appears to be gaining the upper hand at present, with Charles emboldened as he responds well to his cancer treatment. The briefing war was highlighted in a piece for the Sunday Times by royal editor Roya Nikkah, who quoted one friend of the monarch as saying: "He will never shut the door on the possibility of spending time with his family because despite all the trouble, blood is blood." However, within the same article, she noted that others harbored concerns that Harry staying at Buckingham Palace would have afforded him an "Evita moment," while also revealing that his reaction to losing a court case against the Daily Mail, which included attacking the impartiality of the judge, left "jaws on the floor."
