Buckingham Palace has been scolded for its "bad move" in not informing Prince Harry of the King's recent hospital admission, as commentator Ellen Coughlan claims the Duke would have been "devastated" by the decision.
King Charles was forced to postpone planned engagements after suffering temporary side effects from his cancer treatment, and was admitted to hospital for a brief episode.
However, according to reports in the Sun, the Palace chose "not to inform" Harry on his father's condition, to avoid alarming him.
A source told the Sun: "He misses his family terribly, but no one is speaking to him any more. He just wants to go for a beer with the guys, but his only friends are just the husbands of Meghan's friends."
Speaking to GB News, Coughlan claimed that the royal would be "devastated" by the Palace's decision not to inform him of his father's most recent episode.
Coughlan explained: "I think it was a bad move by the Palace. I know they came out and said that they didn't want to alarm Harry in any way by telling him, but I'm pretty sure he was more alarmed by finding out in the media, along with everybody else.
"And I think a good heads up to him probably would have put him at ease a bit more. But finding out in the media, along with the rest of the public, would have been even more alarming for him, so I'd imagine he's devastated."
Offering further criticism of the Palace's decision to not inform the Duke but instead release a public statement to the world's media, Coughlan added that the move shows "disrespect" for Harry.
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Coughlan told GB News: "Because they actually gave a statement to the media about this without giving a statement or without telling Harry beforehand, it just screams of disrespect, actually.
"And all of King Charles's children should have been notified before the media."
As presenter Miriam Cates highlighted that the Duke is "isolated" from the Royal Family following his move to America with Meghan Markle in 2020, Coughlan expressed "empathy" for Harry and claimed that even in the monarchy, family is "so important".
Coughlan said: "I do have a lot of empathy for him there, and he does have his own life set up now in California, but as we all know, family is so important. And Harry has said on numerous occasions that he still loves his family and he still wants to build a connection with them.
"So hopefully down the line when old wounds have healed slightly, that they can rebuild a relationship. Even if it's not as strong as it used to be, but some sort of relationship, even just for King Charles's grandkids - Lilibet and Archie - to have a relationship with their grandfather. So hopefully old wounds can mend."
Discussing Prince Harry's life in Montecito amid uncertainty over his US visa, Coughlan argued that if there "were issues with his visa, we would know by now".
She concluded: "I do feel like if there was something to come of that, it would have happened by now. I'm pretty sure Trump said he's not going to look into Harry's case, and this was just kind of media speculation, and I'm sure Harry would have looked into it.
"He has lawyers looking over his books before they are released, and so I do feel like his lawyers would have looked over and if there was any problems with his visa, it wouldn't have been put in the book."
GB News has reached out to Buckingham Palace and representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
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King Charles was forced to postpone planned engagements after suffering temporary side effects from his cancer treatment, and was admitted to hospital for a brief episode.
However, according to reports in the Sun, the Palace chose "not to inform" Harry on his father's condition, to avoid alarming him.
A source told the Sun: "He misses his family terribly, but no one is speaking to him any more. He just wants to go for a beer with the guys, but his only friends are just the husbands of Meghan's friends."
Speaking to GB News, Coughlan claimed that the royal would be "devastated" by the Palace's decision not to inform him of his father's most recent episode.
Coughlan explained: "I think it was a bad move by the Palace. I know they came out and said that they didn't want to alarm Harry in any way by telling him, but I'm pretty sure he was more alarmed by finding out in the media, along with everybody else.
"And I think a good heads up to him probably would have put him at ease a bit more. But finding out in the media, along with the rest of the public, would have been even more alarming for him, so I'd imagine he's devastated."
Offering further criticism of the Palace's decision to not inform the Duke but instead release a public statement to the world's media, Coughlan added that the move shows "disrespect" for Harry.
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Coughlan told GB News: "Because they actually gave a statement to the media about this without giving a statement or without telling Harry beforehand, it just screams of disrespect, actually.
"And all of King Charles's children should have been notified before the media."
As presenter Miriam Cates highlighted that the Duke is "isolated" from the Royal Family following his move to America with Meghan Markle in 2020, Coughlan expressed "empathy" for Harry and claimed that even in the monarchy, family is "so important".
Coughlan said: "I do have a lot of empathy for him there, and he does have his own life set up now in California, but as we all know, family is so important. And Harry has said on numerous occasions that he still loves his family and he still wants to build a connection with them.
"So hopefully down the line when old wounds have healed slightly, that they can rebuild a relationship. Even if it's not as strong as it used to be, but some sort of relationship, even just for King Charles's grandkids - Lilibet and Archie - to have a relationship with their grandfather. So hopefully old wounds can mend."
Discussing Prince Harry's life in Montecito amid uncertainty over his US visa, Coughlan argued that if there "were issues with his visa, we would know by now".
She concluded: "I do feel like if there was something to come of that, it would have happened by now. I'm pretty sure Trump said he's not going to look into Harry's case, and this was just kind of media speculation, and I'm sure Harry would have looked into it.
"He has lawyers looking over his books before they are released, and so I do feel like his lawyers would have looked over and if there was any problems with his visa, it wouldn't have been put in the book."
GB News has reached out to Buckingham Palace and representatives of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
Find Out More...