King to go on first public engagement since release of Harry’s book

Charles will meet people from charities and voluntary groups in Aberdeenshire on Thursday.

King Charles III arrives to attend a morning church service at Castle Rising Church in Norfolk. Picture date: Sunday January 8, 2023. (PA Wire)

The King will carry out a public engagement two days after the release of the Duke of Sussex’s bombshell book.

Charles will travel to Aberdeenshire on Thursday to visit the Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed for a tour of the new facilities and to meet with local hardship support groups.

It will be his first public engagement since the release of Harry’s controversial Memoir Spare which went on sale on Tuesday.

Harry’s book has sparked headlines for days due to claims that he was physically attacked by his brother the Prince of Wales, his revelation that he killed 25 Taliban members during the Afghanistan war, and admissions of drug-taking.

Regarding his father, Harry said his “Pa” was “never made” for single parenthood but had tried, and told Tom Bradby in an interview broadcast on ITV on Sunday night, that he will “always love” his father.

Narrating his autobiography, the duke said: “Over dinner one night at Highgrove, Pa and I spoke at some length about what I’d been suffering.

“I gave him the particulars, told him story after story. Towards the end of the meal he looked down at his plate and said softly ‘I suppose it’s my fault. I should have got you the help you needed years ago’.

“I assured him that it wasn’t his fault, but I appreciated the apology.”

He also questioned whether Charles had the “patience” and “time” for parenthood.

“He’d always given an air of not being quite ready for parenthood: the responsibilities, the patience, the time. Even he, though a proud man, would have admitted as much. But single parenthood? Pa was never made for that. To be fair, he tried,” he wrote.

Speaking of his affection for Charles, Harry told Bradby: “Of course, he’s my father. I will always love him.”

Harry describes the King as liking “his routines”, adding: “He wasn’t the kind of father who played endless rounds of tag, or tossed a ball long after dark.”

But when a picture of Harry romping naked in Las Vegas, just weeks before his deployment to Afghanistan, is splashed across the newspapers, he says Charles, to his surprise and relief, was gentle.

He felt for me, he said, he’d been there, though he’d never been naked on a front page

Harry

“He felt for me, he said, he’d been there, though he’d never been naked on a front page,” said Harry.

Buckingham Palace said Charles will meet representatives from charities and voluntary groups on his visit on Thursday including Aberdeenshire North Foodbank, Gordon Rural Action and Young at Heart Deeside.

The palace said Aboyne and Mid Deeside Community Shed opened in 2021 and is an inclusive local community space where groups hold their regular workshop, arts, crafts and other practical and wellbeing sessions.

The Shed aims to improve the health and welfare of Mid Deeside residents by reducing rural social isolation.