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King Charles III loves his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, but he may have been a less strict parent after Princess Diana’s death. He was reportedly too distracted by his ongoing affair with Camilla. That idea of lax parenting led both of the boys to run a bit wild without someone monitoring their activities outside the palace.
In Kate Nicholl’s book, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, she discusses how the loss of Diana in the boys’ life changed everything in the royal family. “With a busy work schedule and Camilla now very much a priority in his private diary, Charles placed too much trust in William and Harry to look after themselves,” wrote Nicholl.
Harry and William created their own private club called “Club H” at Highgrove, and with their newfound freedom, the teens imbibed in alcohol and cigarettes. A source told the royal author, “The boys wanted their independence and they probably had too much of it.” Charles was often hard to reach because he was in his love bubble with Camilla, so they had to resort to “calling his protection officers so they could talk to him.”
Calling it not an “ideal” situation, William and Harry relied upon their former nanny, Tiggey Legge-Bourke, and their friends, the Van Cutsems, to pick up the slack of their father. The family dynamic of the past likely plays into the drama of the rift in 2022. Charles placed more importance in his relationship with Camilla when his sons needed him the most after the greatest loss of their lives.
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