Prince Harry Has an Opportunity to ‘Mend Fences’ With King Charles Thanks to Polo Doc — Biographer
Prince Harry has a way to cut through some of the awkwardness with his father, King Charles III. A royal biographer says the Duke of Sussex’s new Netflix series about polo is a good place to start “mend[ing] fences.” Ahead, what we know about Harry’s polo show. Plus, why it probably isn’t the 39-year-old’s only shot at repairing his relationship with the king.
Harry’s polo show is an ‘opportunity to mend fences’ with King Charles
Harry has a new show coming to Netflix about polo, one of his favorite pastimes. Announced on April 11, 2024, the series “will pull the curtain back on the grit and passion of the sport, capturing players and all it takes to compete at the highest level. (via Deadline).
With it, according to royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith, comes the chance to build potential bridges with King Charles.
“While the series will cover the contemporary polo scene — mostly unknown to the average television viewer —” Bedell Smith wrote on Substack, “it could be much enriched by showing how Harry’s own family has been involved with polo for more than a century.”
Harry, along with his brother, Prince William, 41, grew up watching King Charles play polo — he gave it up in 2005 — before eventually taking up the sport themselves. Harry and Meghan Markle are executive producing the series as part of Archewell Productions’ partnership with the streamer.
While Harry’s unlikely to see the king or the Prince of Wales agree to be interviewed, Bedell Smith remarked that even archival footage of the Windsor family playing polo may go toward thawing their frosty relationship.
On the other hand, it could also bring up “painful” parts of the past. “Revisiting Prince Charles’s years as a polo player could also summon memories of his broken marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales, which might be too painful for Harry to explore.”
“Yet offering perspective on Prince Philip and Prince Charles at the very least could be an opportunity for Harry to mend fences, especially with his father.”
The U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida, is the primary setting for the series. It’s the same place where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended a charity polo match on April 12, 2024.
Harry’s Netflix show about polo doesn’t have a title or release date yet
At the time of writing, there are few details on Harry’s polo series beyond that it’s currently in the works. The show, along with Meghan’s newly-announced lifestyle program, is “early” in production, Archewell said in its press release.
As such, there’s no release date or title for Harry’s polo series. Both are expected to be unveiled “in the coming months.” That means other Sussex programming on the streamer is limited to Harry & Meghan, Live to Lead, and Heart of Invictus. At least for now.
Harry may have another chance to patch things up with the king this summer
The Netflix polo series isn’t necessarily the only shot Harry might have to improve things. Harry may also get a chance to hash things out with King Charles over the summer.
He and Meghan are reportedly eager to accept an invitation to Balmoral, the royal family’s Scottish estate, from the king. There’s no word on whether or not an invitation has been issued. However, an “olive branch” from King Charles could be on the way.
Per tradition, the king, as well as other British royals, close out the last few weeks of summer together. Were Harry and Meghan to join, it’d mark their first family visit to Balmoral with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
There’s also the chance Harry could talk with his dad when he returns to the U.K. for the 10-year anniversary of the Invictus Games in May 2024.
