When Queen Elizabeth II passed away in September at the age of 96, her eldest son, Charles, immediately became king.

But even though he’s been King Charles III for several months now, the new monarch’s coronation won’t take place until May.

And like just about everything involving the royals these days, the planning of the coronation has devolved into a messy situation that’s stirring old resentments among relatives.

The principle combatants in this case are Prince William and Prince Harry.

According to a new report by the Mail on Sunday (via the Daily Beast), Charles wants to invite Harry to the coronation, but William is staunchly opposed to the idea.

Now, the present and future kings of England are locked in a tense battle of wills.

Charles reportedly feels that the Harry’s absence would send the message that there’s a permanent rift between father and son, while William feels that Harry’s presence would be taken as an indication that his indiscretions have been forgiven.

“The issue of substance is whether they attend the coronation, and if they do, under what terms and conditions,” a source tells the Mail, referring to Harry and wife Meghan Markle.

“The family is split, and all the indications are that Harry is being advised to agree to nothing at this stage and ‘play it long’ right up to the last minute, which is making negotiations with him very difficult,” the insider adds.

“Harry’s camp made clear that the idea that he would just attend the coronation and behave himself but then be stripped of his titles was a total non-starter.”

Yes, it seems that Harry is well aware of the fact that this might be the last time he’s holding any power in negotiations with his family.

There might come a time when Harry is ready to cut ties with the rest of the Windsors — but apparently he’s not there yet.

So if Charles decides that his youngest son should be invited to the coronation, you can be sure that Harry will secure some favors before agreeing to attend.

“While he might decide at some point to discard his titles of his own volition, he objects to the idea of being forcibly stripped of them,” the insider adds.

“He resents being lumped together with Andrew in the public mind as the two ‘problem princes,’ when he considers the circumstances to be totally different.”

It should go without saying that Harry does not deserve to be compared to Andrew, who infamously paid off his sexual assault victim with money borrowed from the Queen.

Andrew is scum, and Harry is just a man who’s seeking to live life on his own terms and protect his family from the insidious forces that destroyed his mother.

Despite this massively important difference, it seems that Charles might be planning to break his silence on the matter of both “problem princes” in an upcoming BBC interview.

The Mirror reports that “palace aides are discussing the possibility of the monarch using his chat to give his side of the story.”

The interview would reportedly air ahead of the coronation, making it Charles’ first long-form interview as king.

He’ll be taking a risk by speaking publicly for the first time on these very contentious issues.

But at this point, continued silence might be an even bigger gamble.

Prince William to King Charles: You Better Not Invite Harry and Meghan to Your … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip .