King Charles ‘Criticised’ Over Harry, Andrew Decisions
King Charles has been criticised by senior royals for what a new book describes as hesitation in dealing with Prince Harry and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the run-up to the King’s coronation, according to a report published on 30 March. The claims are attributed to royal biographer Mr Tom Bower’s latest book, Betrayal, which examines tensions between the Sussexes and the royal family.
In an extract, Hello Magazine reported that Bower characterises the monarch as “dithering” over decisions involving his younger brother and his son, alleging that unnamed senior figures said the King’s “reticence weakened the Crown’s reputation” during a fraught period before the 6 May 2023 ceremony.
The book describes the 24 hours before the coronation as a time when Charles faced pressure amid public scrutiny of both princes, with Bower writing that the King was criticised for not resolving “conclusively” the “embarrassments” he says were presented by Harry and Andrew. A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has denied the claims in the book, saying the author had “crossed a line” and describing his commentary as “fixation”, the report said.
Bower also alleges that Prince William pressed his father to act more decisively over Andrew’s status, claiming the intervention helped prompt Andrew to surrender titles so he would no longer be known as Prince or the Duke of York. The latest account follows earlier reporting on royal tensions around coronation arrangements, including suggestions that Prince William could have sought to restrict Prince Harry’s role at the event.
Buckingham Palace has not commented on the book’s claims. The allegations are the latest in a series of competing narratives about how the royal household handled family controversies around the coronation and in the years that followed.
