Richard Kay at the Daily Mail had a piece last week about the situation between Prince Harry and Prince Charles, specifically about the Saudi millionaire donor, but generally about how relations between father and son are at their lowest ebb. What no one is saying is that the root of the story likely came about because Charles was trying to throw Harry under the bus and claim that Harry had shady relationships with shady donors for charity too. Maybe Charles didn’t believe that Harry would issue a clarifying statement, maybe Charles didn’t care at the time, that’s how desperate Chuck was to deflect. Harry’s statement was a pointed clap-back at his father and his judgment. Richard Kay then pointed out that Harry is Diana-esque is in his ability to “chip away at his authority” as soon-to-be king. Well, Kay had more to say to the Mail’s Palace Confidential:
As connections between Prince Charles and a Saudi businessman are called into question, Harry has appeared to criticise his father, referring to the affair as the ‘CBE scandal’. Richard Kay believes the move is a calculated one from the Duke of Sussex, who’s keen to further separate himself from his father before the publication of Harry’s memoirs next year.
Kay has said Harry is continuing to “chip away” at his father. He told the Daily Mail’s Palace Confidential : “I think the difficulty for Prince Charles, every time now Harry opens his mouth, he’s seen to chip away at his father’s credibility… this must be undermining their relationship. They have on the horizon the prospect of Harry’s autobiography or memoir – we don’t know what’s going to be in it. But we do know he has spent some time digging into his mother’s relationship with his father. They must be dreading the publication of that book and what it will mean.
“We’re edging closer to the Prince of Wales becoming monarch and every time these embarrassing situations erupt with his son, it reminds people about why they have had problems with the prospect of Charles as king.”
Harry is set to release the tell-all memoir, which he promises will be a “wholly-truthful and accurate” account of his life so far, next year.
[From Palace Confidential & The Daily Mirror]
As CB and I discussed in this week’s Gossip With Celebitchy podcast, while Kay’s journey is tortured, his conclusion is kind of right. Harry is the Diana-figure now, the truth-teller, the one making Charles sound like he has terrible judgment and he’ll make a terrible king. Kay seems to put the onus on Harry to merely shut up about it and stop making Charles look so bad, which is (again) funny because if these salty peeps would just keep Harry’s name out of their mouths, he wouldn’t have to correct anyone. Charles was arguably the instigator in this situation, and not only that, Charles clearly ran around to the Telegraph, the Mail and the Times to whine about how Harry responded to provocation.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
I don’t understand why the son of a father has no right to correct incorrect information about himself. Harry has the relationship with his father and he has the right to his feelings about it. No one in my family can comment on my relationship with my parents because it is my relationship. These Brits are a mess.
Why do they keep bringing up those who have all the favor of the public? Can they not push themselves up instead of attacking their own family making them look bad to make them feel superior? Not only is it so petty, but they are so stupid that they even fail at their own plans, and the ones attacked come out greater… because they retaliate with… wait for it… just the simple truth. LOL
Charles’ reaction to Harry’s statement tells me he’s stupid.
😂😂😂
I’m dying.
He lives in a fantasy world, like Andrew thinking an interview about him, not having affairs trafficked women would be accepted by everyone.
@Anance, “But she’s of legal age!!!” omg….the sheer stupidity is overwhelming…
Charles should stop using his son as a scapegoat then. As much as i love harry for that statement, Charles’ plan did kind of work. Instead of talking about the cash for honors scandal, people are now talking about how harry is such a bad son for “throwing his father under the bus” instead of just taking all the blame. Even if his statement did no such thing. If charles wants somewhat of a steady reign, it would be wise for him to start playing nice with harry and start reeling in William.
@Chloe: Had Harry remained silent, which is what Charles was banking on, the press would be running continuous stories about “corrupt Harry”. In my view, Charles’ plan backfired because instead of Harry taking the heat for this mess, he’s just been shown to be incompetent and stupid.
@Amy Bee; i don’t believe for a second that charles didn’t expect any push back from harry. I think he expected a statement. What he didn’t expect was the: “in fact, I voiced my concerns to the prince of wales”. That was the surprise.
But again, it doesn’t matter because instead of the press talking about charles and his scandals they’ve decided to talk about harry. Which is what he wanted.
@Chloe: This scandal is not resonating with the public and the royal rota is not touching this story. So Charles really could have left Harry out of it and proceeded as normal. It just shows that old habits are hard to break.
Harry’s statement didn’t mention voicing concerns to Charles. And the Times were back at it last weekend about how Charles had given a gift to this donor & said the police are looking at emails between his aides and the donor so the scandal is still out there- as light touch as the reporting has been. This would have been on morning shows & radio debates if it was Harry.
The posturing from Charles’ camp since Harry’s push back to the times’ story really show they are a firm not a family. I don’t know many parents who throw their kids under the bus.
I do agree with some posters that someone is trying to weaken Charles. I think William’s press buddies want William up next. Younger monarchs are probably an easier sell for the press & Elizabeth has benefited from being young when she got on the throne & being the only monarch so many have ever known. They probably want that for William. They probably want less transitions too & therefore less opportunities for the public to question the place of the monarchy which would likely happen after a monarch’s passing
The people talking about Harry were never going to talk about Charles and his scandals because they are scared to lose access. The actual journalists have already moved on with another story about Charles this week in regards to emails and a possible met police investigation.
I didn’t see any of the RRs besides Scobie talk about Charles the weeks prior to Harry’s statement. Maybe they did and I missed it but the RRs like Richard Kay only come out to attack Harry and Meghan
Also it’s not a coincidence that all these scandals are broken by people outside of the royal beat. The RRs will always cover up the mess for access.
Charles is the only one claiming that Harry is a bad son for calling him a shady pos. I think others are starting to figure out the truth despite what the royal minions in the press say.
Maybe if Charles made better choices he wouldn’t be in these situations where he has to throw his own son under the bus.. this is on Charles. If he wants to look better he should do better and the press should be looking at these issues instead of trying to blame the son who moved away and who is probably the only British Royal with a decent reputation.
Harry is the spare/scapegoat for life. That is the role of any “spare” child of the heirs.
What is biting them now if Harry left and they cannot deviate from their plans to step on Harry to raise themselves. Harry is out. He’s thriving. They cannot seem to replace him or just be better people. They are showing themselves as beyond desperate and I’m here for the slow cracks and crumbles forming because Diana’s son is bring down the castles on their heads.
@WigletWatcher, YES! Enjoying the slow crumble of that pathetic House of Horrors….but even though it may crumble, THE WIGLETS WILL SURVIVE!! And the buttons…the Mutton in Buttons is now reigning supreme
Harry had to push back because an allegation of Harry making shady deals with charity donors could hurt the credibility of Archewell, Invictus, Sentebale etc.
Nailed it in one. I thought he had to do it for that reason as well.
And I’m glad he did so, stepped up and squashed that whiny, backstabbing b*tch of a father
Basically they know Charles is shit but they want Harry to shut up about it. All it would have take for Harry to never utter a bad world about Charles is to not have his security cut off abruptly without a warning.
Wondering if they are setting up the scene for King Baldy
Charles will never abdicate and let William take over. He’s waited too long for Mummy to pass away so he can be king.
But that says more about Betty and Phil as parents. They’re horrible people and baldimort won’t be king. Charles is a spoilt simpleton but PWT is a spoilt, lazy, brutish, simpleton. At least chuck knows he’s not the brightest bc mummy told him all the time. PWT thinks he’s brilliant which is why people are pushing for him to take over, he’s too dumb and arrogant to see he’s just being used.
Charles has a jealous and petty streak, and he blames everybody but himself for his own choices. Harry, and Meghan are scapegoated.. William has Charles traits.. And william has Ambitions, enough so that he drove out his brother. Both will be bad monarchs but Charles at least has a work ethic.
I totally believe that is what is happening. Plenty in the BP who never want to see Charles as regent and have been grooming Will to take over instead. They have been planning this for years. Betty is not looking well. This would be the time to take down Charles.
Charles needs to stop worrying about Harry and start chipping away at William. There would be no calls to skip Chuckles if people knew even quarter of what Will-Di Amin was up to. William is not even close to being prepared or fit to be king but nobody can see that because everyone, including Charles at times, is propping him up.
I’m sure plenty of people know that Will isn’t even close to being prepared or fit as FFK, but he can be used, I bet plenty of people are aware of that, and that’s why for various people he’s an enticing prospect for the future. Charles has made poor choices, but he’s not stupid. Will is stupid.
@JT, I agree with your first statement, Charles needs to stop worrying about Harry and focus on what William’s doing. People have said that Charles takes the long view, yada yada – but so far I’m not seeing it, and he’s running out of time.
@ JT, I agree with you wholeheartedly! If the public knew of the shady deals and the abhorrent behaviour of the Baldingham, and his Stepford wife, there would be an avalanche of negativity that would never stop in the view of the public. Baldingham can’t even manage his own measly duties he has now, including Kween, as TQ was forced to show him, at nearly 40, by the hand to Scotland again and show him how it is done!!
TQ and Chaz both know how utterly useless Baldingham is and his campaign to have his father abdicate is another indication that he wants to be king purely out of jealousy of his charming, popular, empathetic, successful and brilliant brother. In addition to the unscrupulous actions of the Meddleton family, Uncle Cocaine Gary included, as he wants his investment back.
Imagine what kind of person you must be and what kind of terrible things you must have done for the truth to be used/viewed as some kind of weapon that chips away at your credibility and integrity. If someone simply speaking the truth has the ability to ruin your reputation, then maybe you’re just not a good person and you haven’t done good things.
This is my thought too. You don’t want your son to tell the truth about you because it damages your credibility and reminds people why they didn’t want you to be king 20 years ago? THEN DON’T ACT IN SUCH A WAY THAT DAMAGES YOUR CREDIBILITY.
This, 100%.
If Chuck doesn’t want his authority chipped away at, maybe he should have made better choices in the past and make better choices now and try not to be a sh** father. T
he way some members of that family fear the truth tells you all you need to know about them.
This, this, and THIS. You took the words right out of my mouth. Yeah, Daddy Phillip was sh*t, but learn the lesson and then don’t be sh*t to your children, and just do better, period. But he’s instead wrapped his cloak of woe-is-me around him even tighter and refused to grow and evolve even the smallest iota. It’s sad.
Richard Kay becoming a mouthpiece for Charles, after spending the entirety of the 90s (to today) presenting himself as Diana’s confidante really is something. He even claimed to be one of the last people who talked to Diana before she died. He also was an active participant in undermining Charles in his columns (usually sourced from Diana or people loyal to her). Yet here he is, holding water for Charles over a scandal the likes of Kay have known about for decades, but have ACTIVELY worked to keep this side of the royal show secret.
Lol i don’t think Kay was as close to diana as he claims he was. Diana used the press too. So in her head he was probably a means to an end. Nothing more. By the way you are describing it Kay makes it sound like he was a close friend.
@Chloe: People forget that most of the press was not on Diana’s side even if she was talking to Kay. The day she died the Daily Mirror had a headline calling her a whore. I think Harry learned from Diana’s mistake that you can’t trust anybody in the press.
I don’t think he was close at all, which is why I wrote “presenting himself as” and “claimed”.
My point is his current “reporting” shows just how dubious he is and how he uses is ~connection to Diana to present himself as an authority on anything relating to her children.
Charles and Camilla used the press pre Diana’s contacting journalists. Camilla would call Stuart Higgins (he said so) of the Sun with “exclusives” and it was apparent she and Charles were in touch during the Wales marriage. Diana had to get her side out under those conditions.
I think the journalist James Whitaker was the most loyal to Diana.
I read an article and had to laugh when Ingrid Seward was called Diana’s “friend.” Seward wrote unpleasant things about Diana after she fell out of favor with Charles and then after her death. She was no friend of Diana’s In her book The Queen and Di, she criticized Diana (this after Diana died) with not putting up with Charles cheating and praised the Queen for putting up with Philip’s behavior. so sad.
Diana must be turning in her grave at Kay’s antics. He has no principles and is nothing but a tool for the Daily Fail toxic editorial agenda which is to prop up the monarchy at all costs.
Then maybe stop bringing Harry into something he’s not a part of? It’s been nearly 2 years and in that time. H&M have made it very clear that they’re not afraid to correct inaccuracies or to release statements about things that are false – and if they need to go down the legal route, then they will do it.
That’s the thing about having an unelected head of state. You get stuck with whoever was born first whether they’re up to it or not, whether you like them or not until they die.
(Yes, we Americans elected Trump, it’s our great shame that we were able to correct in 4 years, we didn’t have to wait for him to die)
The electoral college voted for that shitbag; the plurality of Americans voted for Hillary.
Almost half of eligible voters didn’t vote. Oh what could have been….but we were still able to course correct in 4 years.
Sorry to be the contrarian but I don’t believe this is Charles’ doing. This is apart of has been a well timed concerted effort to take down Charles and Camilla. Harry and Megan are not the only Royals the palace courtiers want to tear down. There are plenty in BP and possibly KP that want to skip over Charles for Will. Using Harry as the bludgeoning tool on Charles is a twofer.
Nah, throwing Harry under bus is part of Charles MO. He just didn’t realise that things are different now and that Harry will respond when there are attempts to make him the scapegoat.
Lol, they are not going to skip over Charles, not without undermining the whole “chosen by God” divine right of succession.
Exactly. The whole “skip Charles” thing is coming from Bill & Cathy, Cathy’s family, and the Tory government. No one in the institution is taking that mess seriously. Just like no one in the institution is even thinking about taking Harry and Meghan’s s title, contrary to what “sources” have said.
I guess what they hope is that charles will feel pressured to abdicate, thereby leaving the space for Bullyiam to be a “young king.” Because thats what struggle island wants more than anything: they know that H&M are set to take the world by storm thru Archewell and other activities and the only way for Bullyiam to compete with that is if he is seen to be “higher” than the Sussexes by being DA KING OF ALL ENGLAND!!!
LMFAO
I’m with you on this Popsicle. While it may be Charles’ MO to throw Harry under the bus, I think this has been seized on to help bring Charles down. They all deserve each other and I am glad H&M escaped.
They’re all trying to take each other down but throwing sh*t at each other won’t have any effect on Charles’s regency. Even if the Queen wanted to change her successor to William, she doesn’t have the power to do so. It’s against the law, specifically the 1701 Act of Settlement. Since Parliament instituted that act (and since the Queen has no power over political laws) Parliament would need to be the one to change it and unless Charles is accused of treason (the only way a Monarch can be removed) he will become King.
Charles is a sell out, he tossed aside his second son in favor of The Heir.
Charles is like his mother, the most important thing is to keep the succession going, nobody wants to be the person to drop the ball, which is why I believe that both of them actually prefer Harry but will keep William happy at all costs.
How many times does Harry’s family have to burn themselves when using Harry as a scapegoat before they understand that when they use Harry as a scapegoat, they will get burnt?
Lately I’ve been getting the feeling that the stage is being set for King William, The Incandescent. They know Charles would never pass on the crown willingly, so they’re trying to turn the public against him, and force him to step aside.
It’s my understanding that the people don’t have that power. They can hate him and throw tomatoes at him if they want but they can’t stop Charles from being king. This guy has been the understudy his whole life. If he outlives his mother, he will never step aside from the job he’s been preparing for since birth.
They can’t skip Charles without destroying the structural integrity of the monarchy.
Merricat- Charles could theoretically get the crown then immediately abdicate for health issues or something, as I posited below. This would not destroy the structure. But it won’t happen.
Charles will never ever let William take over.
The only way they could get Charles to step aside is if he has committed an act of treason, so unless he’s been caught selling military secrets to the Russians he will be king.
Charles messed around and found out. Harry is messing with them anymore.
Interesting that Kay isn’t saying that Harry is causing people to question Charles, just that his statements are reminding people why they already had a problem with him in the first place.
Re: skipping Chuck for Willyboy- it could potentially happen without destroying the monarchy. It won’t, but it could.
Conceivably, pressure could be put on Charles to quietly take the crown and immediately step back for “health reasons” or “severe grief over Elizabeth’s passing.” The man is 70+ years old and nobody would balk at him saying he’s too old for the job and that for the sake of England, Will should take over and have a nice long reign like his Gan Gan. These negative stories could be what is intended to put that pressure on Charles.
But someone is underestimating Chuck. Dude has had such bad PR before, he’s not going to be scared off.
The crown and sceptre will have to be prised from King Charles cold , dead hand rather than him ever give up his right to rule over us.Waity Will and Kate will have to wait some more! In the meantime I suggest that they make strenuous efforts to prove that they do indeed possess the right stuff by doing loads of bread and butter engagements.
I am with Rapunzel. This damned institution would not crumble just because of Charles stepping aside. The King literally abdicated and it survived because hey, there’s a next in line. And next in line and next in line. That’s royalty. There’s always a next in line. And it’s 2021. With the apathy that so many here mention, and the low popularity of Charles, the average Brit likely wouldn’t be marching on the streets saying it’s against the law for Charles to step aside and let Burger King rule. The institution would only crumble once it is shown to be outright corrupt and useless. And we know that’s difficult to show if British press and government are intimate with the BRF. So yeah, if Charles doesn’t turn violent, it is possible.
Charles can try to fight since he is used to bad PR but this is new territory. It’s adult heir against another adult heir (since Elizabeth ascended young) and Burger King can fight way dirtier than the spare or the spouse who are in lower positions of power. Chuck is not in a good position and the outbreak of this story is an indication that he is not safe.
Just like with Diana if Prince Charles wants people to quit “chipping away” at his authority then he should behave APPROPRIATELY IN THE FIRST PLACE.
If Harry reminds people of Charles’ failings, then maybe Charles should put a lid on the articles throwing Harry under the bus, as well as Burger King and Mutton Chops’ continual bashing of Harry and Meghan in the press?
This perfectly illustrates the problem with the royals and how they cannot leave people alone and let stuff go, and how no one there wants to take responsibility. There is so much resentment towards the Sussexes that they cannot just let them mind their business in California and keep trying to keep them tethered to the rest of the royal family, even if just to blame them for any and every problem that comes up. It also shows that they really can’t handle any kind of clap back, or clarification. Charles should have agreed to fully cooperate with whatever this probe is, got a scolding and promised to do better. But he can’t because his refusal to take any responsibility, to the point of trying to deflect blame to his own son, shows his lack of leadership and inability to handle any type of criticism.
I find it interesting that “secrets” are coming to light now. We had a royal Duke outed and now Charles (or Fawcett more likely). Is it possible that PC wants this stuff out there now, so they can’t be front page news when he becomes King? I can’t tell you why I think this is possible, but I do feel like if he gets the bad stuff out now then Willie can’t throw them out when he’s King. That leaves PC with the upper hand because he undoubtedly knows all of Willie’s secrets. He could hold that over Willie for his own purposes in future. Just a thought.
Dunno if this is because I’m so comfy in my celebitchy cocoon but back when this cash for honours/access story first broke, my first thought was this is a plot to undermine Charles and get Walmart on the throne young-ish. Arguments against this idea were presented here, mainly that KP and its overlords are not sharp enough to plan this. Not to say there isn’t anyone lurking in the wings, with this very endgame in mind.
Reading this today, I still think some version of my original surmise might be happening.
Charles had scapegoated Harry for years. William set up Club H but Harry was the one who was reported to the papers for his “drug problems.” William took a military helicopter and landed it on the Middleton Lawn and took it to a stag party, he did not get in trouble. Harry certainly would have! This is just a pattern of Charles. Charles I think lacks the “good father” gene, he sees the sons in a dynastic sort of way. Posing with the Direct Heirs and leaving out his second son and all his grandchildren except George.
All I have to say if the royal family keep on trying to throw the Sussexes under the bus-things are going to get ugly-they fuck around and find out how serious the Sussex family can be.