On Saturday 17 April, the royal family and some of Prince Philip's relatives gathered to bid him a final farewell. Elizabeth II's husband died eight days earlier at Windsor Castle at the age of 99. Only 30 hand-picked guests were able to attend the ceremony, COVID-19 obliges.
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Prince Charles 'at his worst'
Also, the reunion with Prince Harry since his shock interview with Oprah Winfrey has been frosty, according to several British media.
Indeed, after the ceremony, the two brothers—Harry and William—and their father, Prince Charles, took the opportunity to explain themselves and try to patch things up.
It was a very difficult and probably very stressful time for Prince Charles, who decided to step away after the ceremony. A close source told TheDaily Mail on 20 April:
He feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders
A shaken family
Strife is the word of the year for the royals. In addition with the physical loss of a father, Charles also endures the moral loss of a son. Prince Harry famously broke off most ties with the royal family. According to a source, Princes Charles and William continues to have an 'extremely frosty' relationship with Harry despite their furtive rapprochement at the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.
Tensions are still high and things have not exactly settled down as he had hoped.
The Prince of Wales remains 'deeply hurt' by the Duke of Sussex's attitude. In the personal message Prince Harry sent him, the latter explained the reasons for his departure to California while promising that he would 'respect the institutions.'
Back, alone, in Wales
Indeed, William and Harry's father went into exile in his cottage in Wales. A trip that he apparently wanted to make alone, since his wife Camilla Parler Bowles did not accompany him and stayed in London.
Lady Diana's ex-husband decided to take a step back to recover from his emotions
The same source confirmed:
Charles felt that he wanted to reflect alone. He also wants to deal with the thousands of letters that were sent to him expressing condolences following his father's death
The man therefore needs to take time away from the media pressure to think about his future. In the newspaper's columns, you can read:
All his life he was the heir to the throne, but Prince Philip was the patriarch of the family. Overnight, that changed and it impacted him both professionally and personally.
