King Charles Had Just Two Frosty Words for Son Prince Harry After the Release of the Netflix Docuseries ‘Harry & Meghan’

King Charles and Prince Harry walking in the Queen's funeral procession

(Image credit: Getty)

published 2 December 2023

A furious King Charles had just two words for his younger son Prince Harry after divulging private family matters in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan: “That fool,” the King said.

This is according to Omid Scobie in his new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival, out this week. The six-part eponymous docuseries, filmed alongside wife Meghan Markle, netted the Sussexes a cool $100 million as a part of their ongoing deal with Netflix, and of the Liz Garbus-directed series, Scobie writes “At the Palace, heads were in hands and migraines were brewing. ‘[The show] took the wind out of everyone’s sails,’ said one aide. ‘[Charles] went from not wanting anyone to talk about his son to openly criticizing ‘that fool.’”

Princes Harry, Charles, and William walking

The source Scobie spoke to added that Charles was “doing his damnedest best” to get positive media attention after ascending the throne following his mother Queen Elizabeth’s death in September 2022; the docuseries premiered just three months later in December and was followed on its heels by another hit to the monarchy: Harry’s memoir, Spare, released in January 2023.

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But try as he might to be seen favorably by the press, “no one [was] watching” because of the Netflix docuseries, the source continued. “The King was genuinely sad about the entire situation,” they said. “He was angry but didn’t want people to speak ill of his son in front of him, either. It was a brief moment where he paused and realized how bad things had become.”

King Charles and Prince Harry at a royal engagement

Yet, Scobie writes, Charles’ sympathy for the Sussexes “soon disappeared” when the media spotlight shining on them overshadowed his own, adding that Harry & Meghan (the docuseries and the people) “eclipsed” the King “at every turn.”

Despite it all, prior to the release of Endgame on Tuesday, a source speaking to Page Six said that Harry “wants to have a better relationship with Charles. He is his father, after all.”

"Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy's Fight for Survival" by Omid Scobie

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.