Page Six
By Nicki Gostin
A royals expert is questioning what Prince Harry hopes to achieve with his continued criticism of the royal family.
A royals expert is questioning what Prince Harry hopes to achieve with his continued criticism of the royal family.Getty Images
Don’t hold your breath for a sitcom-style kiss-and-make-up moment between Prince Harry and his father, Prince Charles, royal expert Robert Jobson says.
“If we’re talking about building bridges, I can’t see many bridges being built whilst [Harry] wants to live it all out in the public domain,” Jobson tells Page Six.
“I think that he does seem to want to capitalize, or cash in, on his discomfort — or what he claims to be his discomfort … How can a father build a relationship with his son if everything they say or will say is in public for commercial enrichment?”
In the new Apple TV+ docu-series, “The Me You Can’t See,” Harry slammed his dad over his parenting, saying he “suffer[ed]” as a child and revealing that his family attempted to thwart him and wife Meghan Markle’s so-called “Megxit” — even when his wife felt suicidal.
“My father used to say to me when I was younger … ‘Well, it was like that for me, so it’s going to be like that for you,’” the 36-year-old told Oprah Winfrey on the series.
“That doesn’t make sense — just because you suffered, that doesn’t mean that your kids have to suffer; in fact, quite the opposite. If you suffered, do everything you can to make sure that whatever negative experiences that you had, you can make it right for your kids,” he added.
Jobson, author of “Prince Philip’s Century,” stressed that he admires what Harry has done to raise awareness about the issue of mental health. But he doesn’t understand how Harry, who is about to be a father for a second time, continually criticizes his father, especially so soon after his grandfather’s passing.
“There’s a bit of disrespect regarding his grandfather, which hasn’t gone unnoticed on this side of the pond,” he noted. “To continually blame your childhood — which is of course what we all do — but do you have to air it in public? Most people go see a shrink and it’s between them and the shrink, not between them and 50 million people.”
Jobson, who has also penned books about Princess Diana and Prince Charles, wonders how far Harry will continue to go — and to what end.
“How much more navel-gazing can he possibly do? To what effect, what is the impact he’s trying to achieve? Is it the end of the monarchy? What does he want?” Jobson asks.
This news originally appeared in Page Six.
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