In January, Prince Harry made his terms perfectly clear in several interviews to promote Spare. His terms for any reconciliation with his family included a sit-down meeting and an apology to both Harry and Meghan for how they’ve been treated. That’s it. Those are Harry’s terms, plainly and directly said. Since then, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have been openly briefing against Harry and freaking out over every little thing about Harry’s possible attendance at the coronation. Keep in mind, according to Omid Scobie’s sources, the Sussexes still haven’t received an invitation, and I personally don’t believe that King Charles has called his younger son either. Basically, the Windsors are throwing daily tantrums about Harry’s attendance and spinning these bonkers conspiracies and scenarios, all while they refuse to actually INVITE Harry. Well, Becky English at the Daily Mail got another “exclusive” and wouldn’t you know, they’ve turned “Harry wants an apology” into another screed about William’s incandescent rage and Charles being a dogsh-t father. Only this is supposed to be critical of… Harry.

No Apologies: King Charles and the Prince of Wales have no intention of giving Prince Harry the apology he is demanding from them if he is to attend the Coronation. Neither Charles nor William is said to be in any mood to pander to Harry’s demands following his latest attacks on the Royal Family. Some sources sympathetic to the royals’ predicament have described the situation as a ‘toxic stalemate’. ‘There is still a huge amount of ill will boiling over in the family,’ one said.

Open invitation: As the Mail reported last year, Harry, 38, has long had an ‘open’ invitation to all family events as a member of the Royal Family, despite having quit official duties. That olive branch is still there, although it has been stretched to the limit by his and wife Meghan’s repeated attacks on the family via their Netflix documentary series, Harry’s memoir and numerous critical television and print interviews.

Derisive towards Omid Scobie: One journalist with close links to the Sussexes, Omid Scobie, claimed this week that ‘no-one knows their plans right now – the couple has yet to be invited and can’t make a decision, nor any form of itinerary, until that happens’. But those with knowledge of the Coronation’s planning have greeted this claim with snorts of derision, and describe it as ‘the Sussexes’ classic get-out clause… As if a piece of gold-embossed card would change everything,’ one said. ‘The problem goes far, far deeper than that.’

A source literally repeats what Harry said on-camera: One well-placed source says Harry has made it clear that he wants a private ‘apology’ of some sort from both Charles and William before he will attend. There is no mention of Meghan, but as their son, Archie, celebrates his fourth birthday on the same day, there is an assumption by many that she is unlikely to go to Westminster Abbey for the Coronation anyway. The idea of an apology is something Harry has raised publicly, when he told ITV’s Tom Bradby in an interview that ‘the ball is in their court’.

No conversations: The Mail has been told that King Charles, 74, is at least prepared to speak to Harry – ‘he’s his son, he loves him’, a friend declared. But William, 40, is said to be emphatically ‘not in the mood for any kind of conversation’. And Harry’s private insistence that he and his wife are owed an apology before any rapprochement can begin has become a major sticking point for both the King and his elder son. ‘What are the family meant to apologise for?’ one insider asked. ‘As the late Queen said, recollections may vary.’

William remains incandescent: Another source said it was likely there would be conversations between the two camps in the coming weeks over arrangements for May. But they warned: ‘I don’t think His Majesty is minded to apologise for anything at present. Quite the opposite. There is still a huge amount of ill will boiling over in the family. Conversations could still happen in the next few weeks [over the Sussexes’ attendance], I am sure, but they will be waiting a very long time for an apology. There’s a great deal of hurt [at Harry’s actions].’ Another family friend added: ‘I hear that William has no intention whatsoever of apologising and remains incandescent, especially around the way his wife, the Princess of Wales, has been treated.’

William won’t even look at Harry: ‘The relationship isn’t even rock bottom now, it’s non-existent,’ the source said. ‘And I just don’t see, if Harry were to come to the Coronation, how William could even bring himself to look his brother in the face.’

[From The Daily Mail]

I get the impression that Charles and William have just been sitting and stewing about Harry’s early-January interviews for seven weeks now, and they’re constantly getting mad about Harry’s words all over again every single day. Like, I know Harry’s directness made them uncomfortable, I know Harry’s insistence that the Windsors mistreated him and Meghan has made everyone incandescent with rage, but this just reads like Charles and William are struggling and failing to regain power, control and the upper hand. Is it really that simple? It might be – they’re two weak men trying to convince everyone (mostly themselves) that they still have control of the narrative, that Harry will do whatever they say, that Harry is dying to reconcile by any means necessary, etc. Pathetic. William absolutely sits around all day, every day, screaming into a pillow and punching walls because Harry said “they should apologize to me and my wife.”

This passage makes zero sense: “But those with knowledge of the Coronation’s planning have greeted this claim with snorts of derision, and describe it as ‘the Sussexes’ classic get-out clause… As if a piece of gold-embossed card would change everything,’ one said. ‘The problem goes far, far deeper than that.’” The Chubbly planners – who have not sent an invitation to the Sussexes yet – are derisively snorting at Omid Scobie for saying that the Sussexes haven’t received their invitations yet and they won’t make their decision until they receive them. It’s not so much the Sussexes’ “get out clause” as the Sussexes… not making up their minds until they’re actually invited? These people are so f–king stupid.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.