Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career Money
    • Health Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes amp; Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • NYFW
    • Life In Plastic
    • Cari Champion
    • New Books
    • Postpartum Psychosis
    1. Celebrity
    2. Royals

    King Charles Was Allegedly "Terrified" of Prince Harry and Always "Preferred" Prince William

    Harry's "increasing volatility" was partially responsible, a royal expert claims.

    Amy Mackelden#039;s avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 12 August 2024 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    King Charles, Prince William, and Prince Harry attend the Grenfell Tower National Memorial Service on December 14, 2017.
    (Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Prince Harry is sadly not on good terms with his father, King Charles, or brother Prince William. For instance, earlier this year, a royal expert suggested Harry and Charles' relationship was "terminally damaged" for a plethora of reasons. Now, a royal author has noted that the Duke of Sussex was perhaps always at a disadvantage with his father.

    Royal author Tom Quinn, who wrote Scandals of the Royal Palaces: An Intimate Memoir of Royals Behaving Badly, told the Mirror, "Harry's real beef is that he is convinced Charles always preferred William anyway and not just because William is the heir." Quinn continued, "Harry’s difficulties when he was a teenager and his increasing volatility as an adult terrified Charles who turned to the far more stable, risk-free William."

    As the heir to the throne, Prince William has likely been forced to follow some seriously strict rules. Conversely, Prince Harry's teenage years were regularly reported on. "Charles increasingly saw William as a safe pair of hands and Harry as too emotionally unstable," Quinn explained. "Deep down Harry knows this and he deeply resents it."

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Prince Harry, King Charles, and Prince William arrive at the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference at Lancaster House in London on February 13, 2014.

    "Charles increasingly saw William as a safe pair of hands," a royal expert has suggested.

    (Image credit: John Stillwell - WPA Pool/Getty images)

    Unfortunately, relations between Prince Harry and his family have continued to deteriorate since he moved to Los Angeles. Earlier this month, a source suggested Prince William was "spitting mad" with his younger brother for talking about their late mother, Princess Diana, in the press. "He's so fed up with [the Sussexes] cashing in on Diana's death," a source told New Idea magazine (via Sky News Australia). "Harry just won't move on and it appears that since marrying Meghan, the obsession with his mother has only intensified," the source alleged.

    Another report suggested William took umbrage with Harry receiving a large inheritance from their late great-grandmother. Prior to her death, the Queen Mother created a trust fund for William and Harry, so that they'd receive a generous inheritance when they turned 40, respectively. "William’s pretty disgusted that once again Harry’s going to be cashing out and taking millions back to his Montecito home without lifting a finger for it," a source told Closer in July. "There’s nothing he can do about it, aside from shaking his head, but if it were up to him, Harry would not be getting this payday."

    You may like
    • Prince William and Prince Harry standing with their backs to each other Prince William and Prince Harry’s Relationship Is Still “So Broken”
    • Prince Harry looks at Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony as both wear military uniforms Prince William's Stance on Prince Harry Has Changed to a "Cold War"
    • Prince WIlliam walking next to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Royal Expert Claims William and Harry Can't Avoid Each Other Forever
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Explore More
    King Charles Prince William Prince Harry
    Amy Mackelden
    Amy Mackelden
    Social Links Navigation
    Weekend Editor

    Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.

    Read more
    Prince Harry looks at Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony as both wear military uniforms
    Royals Prince William's Stance on Prince Harry Has Changed to a "Cold War"
    By Kristin Contino
    Prince WIlliam walking next to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
    Royals Royal Expert Claims William and Harry Can't Avoid Each Other Forever
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Prince William and Prince Harry standing back to back
    Royals Prince Harry's Move Will Make it Hard for William to "Duck a Reconciliation"
    By Kristin Contino
    Prince William and Prince Harry standing next to each other at Queen Elizabeth#039;s funeral
    Royals William and Harry's Potential Reconciliation Will be a "Slow Build"
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Royals
    Prince Harry looks at Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony as both wear military uniforms
    Royals Prince William's Stance on Prince Harry Has Changed to a "Cold War"
    Duchess Sophie wearing a lime green dress with a purple sash
    Royals Duchess Sophie Embraces Fall's Unexpected Color Clashing Trend
     
     
    A split image of Prince Harry kissing Lilibet and Harry and Lilibet skiing
    Royals Princess Lilibet Shares One of Mom Meghan's Favorite Hobbies
    Grace Kelly wearing a white dress
    Royals Grace Kelly "Understood Quiet Luxury" Before the Term Was Invented
     
     
    Latest in News
    Prince Harry looks at Prince William on the Buckingham Palace balcony as both wear military uniforms
    Royals Prince William's Stance on Prince Harry Has Changed to a "Cold War"
    collage of the best celebrity looks at the 2026 Toronto Film Festival
    Celebrity Style TIFF 2026's Best-Dressed Stars Are Bringing Their Fashion A-Game to Toronto
     
     
    Duchess Sophie wearing a lime green dress with a purple sash
    Royals Duchess Sophie Embraces Fall's Unexpected Color Clashing Trend
    A split image of Prince Harry kissing Lilibet and Harry and Lilibet skiing
    Royals Princess Lilibet Shares One of Mom Meghan's Favorite Hobbies
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.