ROYALSPrince Harry Learned of Dad King Charles' Recent Hospitalization 'Through the News,' Royal Expert Claims
Prince Harry allegedly wasn't informed about his father King Charles' recent hospital scare.
April 8 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
The media comes before Prince Harry, it seems.
Buckingham Palace reportedly released a statement to the press about King Charles, 76, briefly being admitted into the hospital for side effects of his ongoing cancer treatments last month without feeling the need to notify His Majesty's youngest son.
Prince Harry and King Charles have been estranged for years.
According to a royal insider, Harry learned about his father's medical scare "through the news, not by Buckingham Palace ringing him or his team up to explain."
"My understanding is that they didn’t want to add to the drama," The Sun's royal editor Matt Wilkinson claimed during the Friday, April 4, episode of "A Right Royal Podcast."
King Charles' cancer diagnosis was revealed in February 2024.
"They didn’t want to make it seem like it was more serious than it was," Wilkinson explained. "Whereas when [Charles was diagnosed], they told Harry before, and Harry flew back [to England]."
Buckingham Palace revealed on on Thursday, March 27, that King Charles was home from the hospital after a slight health complication.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working members of the royal family in 2020.
- King Charles' Cancer Diagnosis Should 'Not Be a Basis' for Reconciling With Meghan Markle, Thomas Markle Jr. States
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"Following scheduled and ongoing medical treatment for cancer this morning, The King experienced temporary side effects that required a short period of observation in hospital," a spokesperson confirmed at the time. "His Majesty’s afternoon engagements were therefore postponed."
The British monarch has been undergoing cancer treatments since before Buckingham Palace announced the king had been diagnosed with a form of cancer in February 2024.
Prince Harry being left out of his family’s health updates is no surprise considering his and wife Meghan Markle’s estranged relationship with the rest of their royal relatives.
Tensions have remained at an all time high ever since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — who tied the knot in 2018 — ditched their lives in England in 2020 and formally stepped down from their roles as working members of the royal family.
King Charles was briefly hospitalized for side effects of his cancer treatment.
The couple simultaneously moved to Montecito, Calif., and have since attempted to raise their two kids Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3, away from the public eye.
As King Charles battles cancer, however, there have been whispers about Prince Harry allegedly wanting to fix things with his estranged dad, as OK! previously reported.
"It’s no secret Harry has been chipping away at trying to end this feud for quite some time now," a source spilled back in February, claiming the Spare author was also interested in mending fences with his older brother, Prince William, while in the U.K. for his News Group Newspapers lawsuit.
The source added: "Many people have been reaching out, most of his family has checked in, apparently Kate [Middleton] was in touch on behalf of her and [her husband], William, which is huge. The messages of goodwill have gone a long way to making Harry feel some renewed hope."
