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Prince Harry’s latest publicity blitz risks shattering any remaining chance of a royal reconciliation with his ailing father.
The claim was made by several royal experts who spoke to Fox News Digital after the Duke of Sussex joked that President Donald Trump is America’s “king” during a cameo appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The remarks came nearly three months after Trump visited the U.K. for a state visit where he met with the monarch, who is still undergoing cancer treatment.
“Harry’s jab at President Trump on Colbert wasn’t clever – it was reckless,” Kinsey Schofield, host of YouTube’s “Kinsey Schofield Unfiltered,” told Fox News Digital. “Honestly, how does he think he can hold on to a royal title while taking public swipes at the head of a foreign government?”
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during his visit to the Centre For Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London on Sept. 10, 2025 in London. It was during this time that Harry met with King Charles, sparking hope of a royal reconciliation after his royal exit in 2020. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)
“It’s also a slap in the face,” Schofield insisted. “Buckingham Palace put significant effort into a major state visit for President Trump to support diplomatic relations. And, frankly, it’s a slap to President Trump as well, considering he agreed to ease up on Harry’s immigration situation out of personal respect for King Charles.”
From left: First Lady Melania Trump, U.S. President Donald Trump, King Charles III and Queen Camilla during the state visit by the President of the United States of America at Windsor Castle on Sept. 17, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Joking about his desire to play the “Gingerbread Prince” in a fictional Hallmark Christmas movie, Harry told Colbert, “Well, you Americans are obsessed with Christmas movies, and you’re clearly obsessed with royalty, so why not?”
“Hold on, I wouldn’t say we’re obsessed with royalty,” Colbert replied.
WATCH: PRINCE HARRY’S TRUMP JOKE FALLS FLAT WITH LATE NIGHT AUDIENCE
“Really? I heard you elected a king,” Harry responded, as the audience booed.
Harry’s jab echoed anti-Trump sentiment from October’s “No Kings” protest, during which scores of liberals and Trump critics demonstrated nationwide to oppose the president’s second-term agenda.
Organizers of the protest said they were defending democracy from what they saw as Trump’s authoritarian rule.
During an appearance on Stephen Colbert’s late-night show Wednesday, Prince Harry teased Americans for rebelling against a king during their revolution and then electing “king” Trump. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“Harry did himself no favors,” British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. “And to hear that decidedly left-leaning New York City audience boo him – he went from cheers and a standing ovation at first, to that. A few minutes’ summary, if you ask me, of his entire trajectory.”
“His ghastly, self-defeating swipe at both President Trump and his own royal family signaled yet again his terrible judgment,” said Fordwich.
King Charles III and President Donald Trump inspect the Guard of Honour on Sept. 17, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“While he still trades on his title, he attacks the monarchy and chronically misreads public mood on both sides of the Atlantic. Instead of healing the wounds he caused, he scratches them open – all while claiming to want to heal.”
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Prince Harry was a guest star on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Dec. 3, 2025. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS News via Getty Images)
Harry followed up by poking fun at Americans for electing “king” Trump after “making such a big deal about my great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, George III” – a reference to the American Revolution.
“Well, he was kind of a jerk,” Colbert shot back.
“OK, let it go,” Harry joked.
The appearance marked Prince Harry’s second visit to the show, following the publication of his January 2023 memoir “Spare.” (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS News via Getty Images)
The prince continued, asking Colbert what else he needed to do to convince Americans to cast him in a Hallmark film.
“I’ll record a self-tape, I’ll fly myself to an audition, settle a baseless lawsuit with the White House – all the things you people on TV do,” he said.
WATCH: PRINCE HARRY POKES FUN AT AMERICANS FOR ELECTING KING TRUMP DURING COLBERT APPEARANCE
The line was meant as a dig at Colbert’s parent company, CBS, which settled with Trump earlier this year after the president sued the broadcaster for allegedly editing its interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 election.
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“Really? I hear you elected a king,” Prince Harry joked to Stephen Colbert during his appearance on Dec. 3, 2025. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS News via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
In September, Trump opened a two-day visit to the U.K., calling his meeting with the king, 77, “one of the highest honors of my life.” During the trip, he made time for a quiet tribute at Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose with King Charles and Queen Camilla as they bid their farewells at Windsor Castle during a state visit on Sept. 18, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Kevin Lamarque – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
During his visit, Trump was welcomed with the largest guard of honor in living memory – featuring 120 horses and 1,300 troops – as well as carriage rides, an air show and a Windsor Castle state dinner. The 79-year-old also met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer to discuss trade, technology and geopolitical issues.
King Charles III delivers his speech as President Donald Trump listens during a state banquet at Windsor Castle on Sept. 17, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
No U.S. president, or any other world leader, has received the honor of a second U.K. state visit. Trump’s first was in 2019, during his previous term.
“The Andrew saga has already left the royal family exposed, and the king is trying to manage those issues while carrying out daily duties and undergoing regular cancer treatment,” said Schofield, referring to the disgraced ex-Duke of York.
Prince Andrew was officially stripped of his royal titles and honors by King Charles III on Oct. 30, 2025. He will no longer be styled “Prince Andrew” or “His Royal Highness”, and will instead be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor (Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“For Harry to stir up more controversy connected to the family only accelerates internal discussions about removing his titles,” Schofield claimed. “If anything, this moment underscores that there is no path back for Harry. For those insisting he could still be a valuable asset, he just proved what a liability he is.”
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First lady Melania Trump and Catherine, Princess of Wales tour the grounds of Frogmore Cottage on Sept. 18, 2025, in Windsor, England. (Yui Mok – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Schofield noted that before Kate Middleton announced her cancer diagnosis in March 2024, Colbert jokingly linked her absence from public life to rumors of an alleged affair between her husband, Prince William, and Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley. Colbert later expressed remorse for the jokes after Kate’s diagnosis became public, Vanity Fair reported.
“That was one of the hardest years of William’s life, and he’s acknowledged that publicly,” Schofield said. “Colbert’s nasty monologue deeply upset both the prince and princess, who were already under immense pressure as they quietly navigated Catherine’s cancer diagnosis while trying to protect their children from fear or confusion.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as senior royals in 2020. They moved to California. (Jordan Pettitt/Getty Images)
“While they were living with that burden, Colbert and others used their platforms to push cruel theories, which William was regularly briefed on,” she continued. “It caused real pain. Rose was prepared to sue. And for Harry to run onto Colbert’s stage and crack jokes with him tells you everything about where that relationship stands. It’s irrevocably broken.”
The outlet reported that Hanbury’s lawyers sent a legal notice to CBS, stating the allegations were false.
Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales greet German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Büdenbender during their state visit to the United Kingdom on Dec. 3, 2025, in Windsor. The princess announced she was in remission from cancer on Jan. 14, 2025. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
Harry has been estranged from his family since 2020, when he and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back as senior royals. They said the decision was driven by unbearable press intrusion and a lack of palace support.
After moving to California, they aired their grievances in interviews and documentaries. Harry’s 2023 memoir, “Spare,” further worsened his relationship with the royal family.
A person at home in Edinburgh watching the Duke of Sussex being interviewed by ITV’s Tom Bradby during “Harry: The Interview,” two days before his controversial autobiography “Spare” is published. (Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images)
In May, Harry told the BBC: “I would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore. I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
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King Charles III is seen arriving at Clarence House on Sept. 10, 2025, in London, England. The monarch had a private tea with his son, Prince Harry. (Belinda Jiao/Getty Images)
Harry met his father before Trump’s state visit, sparking hope among royal watchers of a reconciliation between father and son. Sources previously told People magazine that the king wasn’t responding to Harry’s calls or letters.
William, Prince of Wales (left) and President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle on Sept. 17, 2025, in Windsor, England. William is heir to the British throne. (Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
But not everyone believes Harry’s late-night appearance was catastrophic.
“It was clunky, but not cancerous,” Doug Eldridge, founder of Achilles PR, told Fox News Digital.
During his appearance, Prince Harry joked he wanted to star in a Hallmark-style holiday film. (Scott Kowalchyk/CBS News via Getty Images)
“Objectively speaking, it was pretty benign – this was about visibility. As I’ve often said, Hollywood isn’t about talent; it’s about temperature. Visibility and popularity provide the match to light that fire in the first place. He might not have done well, but he still knew what he was doing.”
But for some, the wounds have already been inflicted.
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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend the Project Healthy Minds 3rd Annual Gala at Spring Studios on Oct. 9, 2025, in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
“After such a successful state visit, where his father hosted President Trump to bolster U.S.-U.K. ties, Harry is doing precisely what he shouldn’t – inserting himself into partisan politics, contrary to all traditional royal neutrality,” said Fordwich. “While we won’t have any public response from the royals at this point, past patterns indicate how this will have been received.”
“I guess Harry and Colbert have a lot in common – like the unemployment line,” Schofield quipped.
Fox News Digital’s Gabriel Hays and The Associated Press contributed to this report.