Prince Harry’s actions are continuing to be troubling for the monarchy, with King Charles reportedly becoming increasingly exasperated with his youngest son.  

“The king brings Harry up every time I see him. I don’t think we’ve moved past sad and bewildered, but there’s a bit more frustration at his behavior, because it just keeps going,” a source told The Sunday Times. 

A comment the Duke of Sussex made during his witness statement for his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged phone hacking was reportedly particularly vexed the monarchy. Last week, Harry told the High Court in London, “Our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government, both of which I believe are at rock bottom.”

That line made Buckingham Palace aides uncomfortable because the monarchy is constitutionally required to be “above politics,” a source explained to The Times. “The Palace will find that extremely difficult and uncomfortable, because you can never fully separate yourself from the institution and it will have raised eyebrows on both sides of the park—at Westminster too—not least because it wasn’t necessary for the core of his case.”

The situation underscored the importance of decisions made by the late Queen Elizabeth II at the British royal family’s infamous meeting in January 2020, the source said. After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced they would be stepping back from royal life that year, the family held its so-called Sandringham Summit, where the family matriarch made it clear that “you cannot be half-in and half-out.”

“Those decisions are now the royal family’s insurance—when one of its members continues to break with convention, they can point out that he is speaking as Harry Windsor, not as the Duke of Sussex, working member of the royal family representing the nation,” the source said. “Then, there is the deep irony of a member of the royal family talking about how the country is judged around the world, which is often by and through the royal family. It shows a deep misunderstanding by him.”