In the months after the death of the late Queen, Prince Harry released his controversial memoir Spare. And according to one respected royal author, the way he dished on his family has caused a long-standing trust issue

Prince Harry was effectively “taking notes” around the time of the late Queen’s death for his controversial memoir, according to a royal author.

The Duke of Sussex sent shockwaves around the world when his controversial autobiography Spare hit the shelves last year – just several months after the death of his grandmother. In it, he revealed private moments with his royal relatives, including details of what happened on the day the former monarch died. Since the book was published, Harry’s bond with his family appears to have gone from bad to worse, especially with his brother Prince William, who he accused of physically attacking him during a heated argument in Kensington Palace.

Harry and Meghan Markle with the late Queen on the Buckingham Palace balcony ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
And according to Robert Hardman, the respected author behind biographies of both King Charles and the late Queen, the fallout from the book is still being felt by Harry more than one year on.

According to the Independent, he told the Hay Literary Festival: “The problem that exists is, at the moment, there is still a trust issue. People are still very wounded, particularly Prince William, that these intimate private childhood family moments all spilled out in Harry’s book. It’s not what Harry said, it’s the fact that he said it, and he gave away so many secrets. And he was, effectively, at the time of the Queen’s death, you know, he was taking notes.”

During his appearance at the festival, the author, who had behind-the-scenes access during the Coronation, was asked about how Charles had been affected by the situation with this younger son. And he said the King finds it unsettling and that it “makes him unhappy”.

He added: “There he is, he’s got two sons, one he hardly sees, and two grandchildren he’s barely ever seen, and yes, I think he would like some sort of modus vivendi. Clearly, they can’t come back to royal life, I don’t think they want to. And, after all that’s happened, it wouldn’t work.”

Last week, reports suggested that Harry, who has a rocky bond with his father, turned down an offer from the King to stay in a royal residence on his recent visit to the UK earlier this month. It is said the offer was knocked back because it did not come with any security provision and he would be in a “visible location with public entrance and exit points and no police protection”.

During the case, the High Court was told that Harry believes his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet cannot “feel at home” in the UK if it is “not possible to keep them safe”. Since moving to the US, Archie and Lilibet have only been to the UK once, with Charles only having one face-to-face meeting with his youngest granddaughter.

And according to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, the security issue looks to be the barrier when it comes to a royal reunion. She told the Mirror: “Harry and Meghan’s security fears could well be a stumbling block to any kind of reunion with the Royal Family. But no doubt they have been invited to Balmoral this summer.

“As the late Queen discovered, Scotland offers the only quality time a monarch has to devote to family. It would be very sad if Charles was denied the pleasure of seeing his grandchildren just because of Harry’s unfounded security woes.”