Prince Harry is “lonely and isolated” living in California, has “completely severed contact” with old friends in the U.K. and will be “devastated” at being forced to resign from the charity he founded in memory of his mother, friends, acquaintances and TV industry insiders have told The Daily Beast.
Sources close to Harry have denied the claims, telling The Daily Beast he is “happy with his family” in his luxury home in Montecito.
However, one Los Angeles based TV executive, who has dealt with Harry and his team over the past few years and met the prince socially on several occasions, told The Daily Beast: “This is a very transactional town and when you are perceived as toxic, people run a mile from you. So, no, I haven’t seen Harry at any dinners lately. His brand is a busted flush and no-one wants to be associated with failure. The fact is that Harry started with one of the best brands in the world, ‘Prince Harry,’ and trashed it. The clue is in the name: Prince Harry. It’s increasingly sunk in now to the wider world that he is not a royal anymore, which leaves a question; what’s the point? It’s hard to tell at this stage.”
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The executive said they were aware of bullying allegations made against Harry by Sophie Chandauka, the head of Sentebale, the charity he founded, and dramatically quit this week. They said: “Bullying allegations seem to follow this couple everywhere. It’s massively unhelpful as his whole brand was being a nice guy, as opposed to another nasty royal.”
One old friend of the prince, whose family are long term friends of the Windsors and who was very close to him and his brother growing up said: “It’s absolutely tragic. He has dozens of friends here who would love to hear from him, but he has completely severed contact with us. No-one ever hears from him.”
Asked about a report in the Sun newspaper this weekend which said Harry’s only social outlet was with the husbands of Meghan’s pals, the friend said: “I know he feels lonely and isolated. Who wouldn’t if they had moved to another country where they don’t know anyone, and then their whole professional life and their beloved charity had collapsed? It’s awful and we just wish he would make peace with the family and come home.”
The friend said that the price of peace would be a private apology to William for revealing details of their personal life in his memoir and films, and a “solemn promise” to not “sell out” the family’s secrets again.
Another friend who was involved with the prince in charity work when he lived in the U.K. and was a full-time royal said, “He is going to be devastated at what has happened to Sentebale. He poured his heart and soul into that. All he really has now is Invictus.” The Invictus games are the Paralympic-style games he set up ten years ago for wounded veterans.
A friend of the king’s told The Daily Beast he would also love to reconcile with Harry, but that it was “impossible” while Harry was still engaged in legal action against the U.K. government over his security arrangements.
The extent of the estrangement between the king and his son was graphically illustrated this weekend, when the Sun reported that Harry was not privately informed about the king’s admission to hospital last week—instead he read about it in the media like everyone else.
The Sun also alleged that his friendship with his cousin Princess Eugenie has been strained after she was photographed with Piers Morgan. A friend said: “A dim view was taken of this, as Piers has clashed with Meghan and Harry in the past. Eugenie has been supportive of Harry and Meghan for years and was right there at the beginning of their relationship, but it has now soured.”
Harry’s office did not want to comment, but his camp believe the Sun has long pushed what they say is a false “narrative” about Harry being unhappy.
