Prince Charles says he's still 'proud' of Harry


Prince Harry, Prince William, Prince Charles and British naturalist David Attenborough attend the global premiere of Netflix's "Our Planet" at the Natural History Museum in London, Britain April 4, 2019. REUTERS/John Sibley/Pool

Prince Charles has said he is 'proud' of both his sons, William and Harry.

Writing in an essay on climate change for Newsweek, he said, "As a father, I am proud that my sons have recognised this threat [of climate change].

"Most recently, my elder son, William, launched the prestigious Earthshot Prize to incentivise change and help repair our planet over the next 10 years by identifying and investing in the technologies that can make a difference.

"And my younger son, Harry, has passionately highlighted the impact of climate change, especially in relation to Africa, and committed his charity to being net zero."

The Prince has never spoken publicly about family problems involving Harry, who has been outspoken about his own issues with the royal family, so his comments suggest that Charles still admires his younger son's passionate commitment to the causes he cares about, and hopes for reconciliation.

Since moving to Canada, then America, with wife Meghan, Harry has seen little of his father other than a brief appearance at Prince Philip's funeral last April, and is widely thought not to be on speaking terms with his once-close older brother, Prince William.

Baby Lilibet, Prince Charles' fifth grandchild, born last June, has also not yet been to meet her wider family.

Over the past year, Harry has given a brutally frank interview to Oprah Winfrey, and also talked on Dax Shepard's podcast about the difficulties of fatherhood and 'genetic pain'.

Harry said he would not 'point the finger' but had experienced 'difficulties', "because of the pain or suffering that perhaps my father or my parents had suffered".

He added, "I'm going to make sure I break that cycle so that I don't pass it on.

"It's a lot of genetic pain and suffering that gets passed on anyway so we as parents should be doing the most we can to try and say, 'You know what, that happened to me, I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen to you'.'"

Harry has previously spoken about the devastating impact of his mother's death, but has been far more forthright about growing up royal since he and Meghan quit royal duties to move to LA.

Speaking of Charles' upbringing, which included schooling at Gordonstoun, the boarding school Charles reputedly hated, Harry added, "I never saw it, I never knew about it, and then suddenly I started to piece it together and go 'okay, so this is where he went to school, this is what happened, I know this about his life, I also know that is connected to his parents so that means he's treated me the way he was treated, so how can I change that for my own kids?'"

Speaking to Oprah, alongside Meghan, Harry previously said that when it came to his wife's mental health, "I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever it is, just got met with total silence or total neglect."

He also said on TV that his family had "literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us... I've got what my mum left me, and without that, we would not have been able to do this."

Prince Charles has not responded publicly, and nor has the Queen, and while William was seen speaking briefly with Harry at the unveiling of Princess Diana's statue last June, relations are reportedly frosty.

Charles's latest comments, however, suggest that for him at least, the door remains open - and it's up to Harry to walk through.

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