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News You Can Use – Prodigal Prince

By David Bachelor, PhD

It has been a year since Queen Elizabeth II passed away. The anniversary has briefly brought Prince Harry back to England. As King Charles III orchestrates events to memorialize his mother, the question that seems to fascinate royal-watchers is, “Will the King meet with Harry?” Judging by the headlines, reconciliation is not around the corner.

On September 5th, New Yorker magazine published, “King Charles Pretends He Has ‘No Time’ to See Prince Harry.” The article notes grievances King Charles has that incline him to delay a tete-a-tete with Harry. These include, “Harry wrote a tell-all memoir, moved to the United States, and is still giving interviews about how ‘no one’ in his family offered him ‘support’ when he was a traumatized youth.” Citing previous opportunities when the monarch’s staff used Charle’s workload as an explanation for the absence of father-son interaction, the author feels that a king who has no control over his calendar does not control anything.

The rift was also in the September 6th headline of the entertainment magazine ET, “Prince Harry and King Charles Have ‘No Current Plans’ to See Each Other During U.K. Trip, Source Says.” The piece contrasts the king’s sedimentary presence at Balmoral with Harry’s kinetic attendance at a range of events. In addition to his father, “Harry will also be missing his brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton.” Only royals lower than Harry in the line of succession are listed as possible society for Harry while in England.

The Mirror headline for September 8th was, “King Charles Has an ‘Ultimatum’ for Prince Harry that ‘Peace Talk’ Reunion Hinges On.” According to palace sources, “The King will make it very clear that there will be absolutely no private family business discussed in public moving forward.” In the absence of such a promise from Harry, there would be no meeting with the king.

In the Bible, it is King David’s son, Absalom, who cannot get on his father’s appointment calendar. Unlike Prince Harry, Prince Absalom did not publish a tell-all book on the dynasty’s secrets. Absalom’s crime was killing his half-brother, Prince Amnon, after Amnon raped Absalom’s sister, Princess Tamar (2 Sam 13:14 and 2 Sam 13:28-29). Like Harry, Absalom skipped out to a foreign country after his crime (2 Sam 13:37). Eventually, Prince Absalom was allowed to return to the kingdom (2 Sam14:21). However, his father, King David, would not meet with him (2 Sam 14:24). Absalom could not even get King David’s chief of staff, Joab, to return his calls (2 Sam 14:30) So, Absalom had his servants set fire to Joab’s crops. This brought Joab to see Prince Absalom for an explanation: “Absalom replied, “Because I wanted you to ask the king why he brought me back from Geshur if he didn’t intend to see me. I might as well have stayed there” (2 Sam 14:32). Joab went to King David and was able to get Prince Absalom on the king’s calendar (2 Sam 14:33).

In the Bible, the restoration of Prince Absalom did not bring unity to David and his kingdom. In fact, it brought insurrection as Prince Absalom attempted to dethrone his father (2 Sam 15:10). Let us hope when King Charles finally meets with Prince Harry that Harry does not follow the path of Absalom.