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With his youngest son still residing – Brooklyn Beckham-style – 5,000km away from home in an LA mansion, to the casual observer King Charles appears as distanced from Prince Harry as ever.
And yet, something happened this week – and it’s just the latest in a series of secret signs that Charles appears to be ready to welcome the errant Duke of Sussex back into the royal fold.
The signal was hidden somewhat, in a new documentary that focuses on 77-year-old Charles’ passion for protecting the natural world.
In the doco, Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision – which is released globally on Amazon Prime on February 6 – Charles is asked by narrator Kate Winslet whether he is worried “about the state of the world”.
“Of course. That’s been my main motivation for a long, long time, and you can see what’s happening. But I mean the underlying principles behind what I call Harmony, I think we need to follow, if we’re going to somehow ensure that this poor old planet can support so many,” the monarch replies, before looking up at the sky and adding, “It’s unlikely there’s anywhere else.”
At the end of the film, the King has a message
“It all boils down to the fact that we are actually nature ourselves, we are a part of it, not apart from it, which is really how things are being presented for so long.” he says.
“Maybe, by the time I shuffle off this mortal coil, there might be a little more awareness… of the need to bring things back together again.”
The essence of bringing things “back together” can’t be lost on Charles who – since Harry published his bombshell book Spare – has seen his two sons virtually estranged.
To that end, it didn’t go unnoticed by viewers of the documentary that Harry made a cameo appearance in it, along with Prince William.
The Duke of Sussex could be seen at the King’s residence in Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, being shown how to fish by his father as a child.
His inclusion shows, perhaps, a thawing of relations between Charles and his wayward son – and it’s not the only sign that Harry may soon be back in the royal fold.
Earlier this month, in a break from protocol, the King backed an attack made by Harry on President Donald Trump over NATO veterans.
The move came after the US president falsely claimed that NATO allies “stayed a little back, a little off the front line” during operations in Afghanistan – a claim that led to Harry issuing a fierce rebuke.
“I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there. The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed,” the Duke shared in a statement.
“Thousands of lives were changed forever. Mothers and fathers buried sons and daughters.
“Children were left without a parent. Families are left carrying the cost.
“Those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect, as we all remain united and loyal to the defense of diplomacy and peace.”
Charles also expressed concern to the White House over Trump’s false claim – something Tom Sykes, author of The Royalist substack said was “an astonishing breach of protocol for a constitutional monarch”.
“What I want to discuss is how the intervention amounts to a striking show of support for his renegade son, Prince Harry, who was one of the first public figures to challenge Trump’s version of events, and how it will also be a slap in the face for Prince William, who has maintained dutiful silence,” Sykes wrote in a post on the matter.
And the small signs that point to a renewed unity between father and son don’t end there.
It’s been reported that Charles is considering an offer by Harry to open the Invictus Games when it returns to the UK next year.
“Harry wants it to happen both for the Games, and for their relationship. It’s his dream to have his father by his side,” a source told The Sun.
“It is appropriate because Invictus is returning to the UK for the first time since 2014, and given Charles is Head of the Armed Forces.
“Invictus always invites Heads of State but Harry wants to go further with Charles involved in the opening ceremony,” the insider added.
“The Games represent a cause close to both their hearts. They appear to want a reconciliation and the games are a perfect opportunity for them to work alongside each other.
“The sight of them on stage when it opens would be heart-warming and in the spirit of the occasion.”
While Harry and Charles have only had two brief meetings in recent years – and the Duke remains estranged from William – Royal photographer Arthur Edwards said “anything is possible”.
“I’ve worked with the King for many years and he’s a very decent man, very caring… It may happen, it’s up to His Majesty,” he told The Sun.
