Prince Harry wants a family, not an institution. King Charles can't give him that.

• Prince Harry's already distant relationship with King Charles III has deteriorated in recent months.
• Charles' position as king creates an even greater obstacle for Harry to get the father he wants.

She was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, but to Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth II was simply Granny.

In a 2012 interview with CBS News, Harry described Queen Elizabeth as "very, very normal and very relaxed" — an involved grandmother who took "a huge interest" in her children and grandchildren. While there was always a certain protocol to follow given her position as monarch, such as bowing in greeting, Harry told NBC last year that it didn't get in the way of them developing a "really special relationship."

"We talk about things that she can't talk about with anybody else," Harry told the "Today" show host Hoda Kotb.

Harry's relationship with his father, King Charles III, is a different story.

In recent years, as Charles has gotten closer to the crown, Harry has distanced himself from it and been more vocal about the monarchy's shortcomings.

Charles, who took the throne when public support for the monarchy was at an all-time low, is now tasked with ushering in its new era amid tensions. Meanwhile, Harry has spoken out against the royal family's "business model" as Charles has become the face of it.

As they move further apart, reconciliation becomes less likely, raising questions about whether it's possible at all — and what that means for the royal family's future.

Harry described a distant father in 'Spare,' and that distance has only grown since he left royal life

In his memoir, "Spare," Harry wrote that he and his father were never particularly close.

He said that when Harry was young, Charles "wasn't great at showing emotions" and didn't hug him after sharing the news that Princess Diana had died in a car crash. He also described Charles writing letters instead of giving him compliments to his face and making "remarkably unfunny" jokes about not being his real father amid rumors about Diana and James Hewitt, her redheaded riding instructor and former lover.

"Never mind that my mother didn't meet Major Hewitt until long after I was born, the story was simply too good to drop," Harry wrote.

Charles has not commented on the claims in Harry's book.

Harry has said that as he and Meghan Markle began to step away from their roles as working royals in 2020, Charles stopped taking his calls. Harry wrote in "Spare" that when he returned to the UK for Prince Philip's funeral in 2021 and met with his father and Prince William, "Pa and Willy had their parts to play, and they'd come ready for a fight."

Harry said previously that he wants "a family, not an institution," telling ITV's Tom Bradby in January that he just wants his father and brother back. Charles isn't getting what he likely wants from the relationship either: a supportive son who's strengthening the monarchy and the public's perception of it.

Charles' position as king creates an even greater obstacle for their relationship as he's now tied to duty more than ever. For Harry, the coronation symbolizes aspects of the monarchy he's found damaging — treating the royal family as an institution first and a family second along with prioritizing duty, appearances, and protocol over diligence, attention, and parentage.

Charles' coziness with UK tabloids deepened the familial rift

Meghan and Harry told Oprah Winfrey in 2021 that the royal family's institutional relationship with "bigoted" UK tabloids played a "large part" in driving them out of royal life.

The royal couple started their relationship on good terms with Charles. In their Netflix docuseries, "Harry & Meghan," which premiered in December 2022, Harry said Charles had helped them find musicians and a gospel choir for their wedding. After Meghan's father bowed out of attending the wedding in the wake of a paparazzi scandal, Charles stepped in to walk her down the aisle.

The couple said in the docuseries that UK tabloid stories branding Meghan as "difficult" and "annoying" for doing things like cradling her baby bump or eating avocados — while Kate Middleton had received positive coverage for similar actions — began to shape negative perceptions of her within the royal family.

In "Spare," Harry wrote that palace staffers regularly traded negative stories about some royal family members to protect others from unflattering coverage in the press and that Charles' staff would leak unfavorable stories about his sons to secure good press about him and Camilla.

In "Harry & Meghan," he accused the palace of planting negative stories about Meghan and leaking private conversations with Charles. These leaks, he said, derailed their talks with the palace about continuing to represent the Commonwealth outside of the UK — a move that would have also helped Harry and Meghan evade British tabloids.

Harry said that "to see this institutional gaslighting that happens" was "extraordinary," adding, "That's why everything that's happened to us was always going to happen to us because if you speak truth to power, that's how they respond."

Neil Basu, a Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner, told the UK's Channel 4 News in November 2022 that the tabloid-media circus, coupled with coordinated hate campaigns on social media, led to "disgusting and real" threats against their lives.

Harry told Winfrey that there were "many opportunities for my family to show some public support" but that "no one from my family ever said anything." Again and again, Harry has said, Charles and "the firm" prioritized the public perception of the institution over the well-being of his family.

Charles is now the head of this institution — and as Insider's Mikhaila Friel described in an analysis, he may be even less inclined or able to deviate from what Harry has called the royal family's "invisible contract" with the Royal Rota, the British press pool that covers the royal family.

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan have pursued legal action against the same UK tabloids that Charles and Camilla have long been friendly with. The king and future queen have even hired executives from those publications for the royal communications team.

Harry and Meghan's relationship with the royals has never been worse

Harry and Meghan's already tense relationship with Charles appears to have rapidly deteriorated in recent months.

After Harry and Meghan's bombshell interview with Winfrey in March 2021, the palace appeared willing to engage — on its terms. In a statement, it said that "the whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan" and that "while some recollections may vary," the issues they raised would "be addressed by the family privately."

Since then, the royal family hasn't commented on Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries or on "Spare," published in January. After the release of his memoir, Harry told Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes" that he hadn't spoken to his father or brother in "quite a while."

Charles appears to have expressed his feelings about their recent projects in other ways.

In March, the royal author Omid Scobie reported that Charles had evicted Harry and Meghan from Frogmore Cottage, which the couple had spent $3 million to renovate as their family home, and offered the property to the controversial Prince Andrew.

Andrew was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages last year after Virginia Giuffre filed a lawsuit, accusing him of sexual assault. (Andrew, who had denied the claims, settled the lawsuit in March 2022.)

Harry and Meghan, who moved to California, had maintained their Windsor residence because it offered them royal protection on trips to the UK, a service they lost when they retired as working royals. With their home and security pulled, visiting family across the pond got a lot harder.

Also in March, Meghan and Harry reportedly invited royal family members to their daughter's christening but none attended.

Buckingham Palace and representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not respond to Insider's request for comment.

There have been some indications of reconciliation leading up to the coronation, however.

Harry is set to attend the event but without Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Charles' coronation souvenir program also includes a family portrait with Harry and Meghan that was taken in 2018 before they had their children. In a speech in mid-April at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Charles suggested that both William and Harry would have "immense pride" in cadets, though he didn't elaborate.

Still, it might not be enough for a resolution. These steps don't tackle the deep-seated structural issues within the firm that continue to drive a wedge between Harry and Charles. And in an institution like the royal family, a wedge this deep carries greater consequences than awkward family gatherings.

This story is part of "Charles in Charge," our package of stories all about King Charles' coronation. Read the rest here.