Earlier this week, we talked about the part in Endgame where Omid Scobie carefully discusses King Charles’s ineptitude at managing any crisis, especially a family crisis. The Windsors are “increasingly frustrated” that their king and family patriarch has bungled this Sussex drama so badly. Throughout Endgame, there are details sprinkled around, like even Prince Edward suggested to Charles that he actually sit down and speak to Harry and try to make peace. This is something I’ve been saying for years now – Charles should have positioned himself as the father who extended an open invitation to his “wayward son” to hash out their joint grievances. That positioning would have put the onus on Harry. Instead, Charles has publicly shown himself to be a dogsh-t father, a terrible manager and a sadist who would rather “punish” his son than speak to him. Well, here’s an interesting piece of info: even QEII told Charles to make peace with Harry.

Charles has failed to manage the Sussex crisis for years: The new king is still dealing with the fallout from his inability to convene and command his own family. His ineptitude surrounding the Harry and Meghan saga has effectively turned the couple into the disruptors they were feared to become in the first place. “And so much of it could have been prevented,” said a mutual family friend. “For so long Harry had made it clear that he and Meghan simply wanted to be heard. That they wanted the opportunity to sit down and talk through the past, from both perspectives, and find a way to move forward. For Harry, it was about seeking accountability and, where appropriate, apologies.”

QEII told Charles to tell Harry what he needs to hear: A former Clarence House staff member said Charles was encouraged by senior aides and, on at least one occasion, the Queen herself to swallow his pride. “Just tell him what he needs to hear . . . That’s what was said,” admitted the former employee. Instead, Charles chose to say nothing and turn the other way as the Sussexes shared their story via Netflix in December 2022 and Harry’s memoir a month later.

Harry has tried to speak to Charles several times in the past year, only for Charles to ignore him or be icy towards him: “It’s complex, but there’s increasing frustration from some of the wider circle of family members that Charles won’t just fix things for the sake of everyone,” said a royal source.

The Sussexes are still the story in the British media: I’ve repeatedly witnessed up close how Palace aides do their best to muddy the truths the couple shared with the world (be it with misleading briefings to newspapers or, in some cases, lies to inquiring journalists), but the issues they raised—from institutional cruelty to unconscious racial bias—still loom large over the monarchy. None of this was helped by the fact that the Sussexes remain as much of the royal story today as the day they stepped back from their roles. For most royal correspondents, the couple are still the only surefire way to get prominent headlines and online traffic, whether it was the months of “will they, won’t they” stories about the couple attending the coronation or the breathless running commentary about the state of their various business deals in the United States. Instead of completely walking away from the Firm, they’ve unintentionally taken much of the royal spotlight with them to America.

[From Omid Scobie’s Endgame]

“Just tell him what he needs to hear.” Seriously. And I can imagine there are other family members saying similar things as well – as I said, Scobie claims Edward said the same thing to Charles and I would imagine Anne would also feel the same way as her mother. Which leaves the question – is this simply Charles being a terrible chief executive, too stupid to cauterize this years-long bleed? Or is it something else? Is it Charles not knowing how to parent, to be a father? Or is it truly all about what Camilla wants? Camilla played her cards well – she destroyed Diana, she exiled one of Diana’s sons and destroyed Charles’s relationship with his sons. Plus, she got the two brothers to go to war with each other.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar.