ROBERT JOBSON: It was a well meaning gesture. But I’m told Harry ‘took it upon himself’ to fly over… and Charles was left kicking his heels until he arrived

It’s easy to forget that the bond between King Charles and Harry, his “darling boy,” was once a source not only of affection but of joy, a relationship even warmer than that between Charles and William, perhaps.

The distance between them has grown to the point that their conversations, when they exist, have become mere echoes of the past.

We have seen this, poignantly, in recent days when, upon learning of his father’s cancer diagnosis, Harry hopped on a plane and flew 5,500 miles to see him.

It was widely reported that Charles had been “moved” by the gesture. Maybe it was.

However, I am told that the reality is more complex and more disturbing: that Harry caused some unrest by “taking responsibility” for flying over the site without being asked and at such short notice.

Put bluntly, the king was not happy with what amounted to a fait accompli presented by an emotional but well-meaning son.

Charles just needs peace and quiet right now and had planned to fly to the quiet of Norfolk with his wife, the Queen, much earlier on Tuesday.

However, thanks to Harry’s intervention, Their Majesties were left hanging around Clarence House, their main home in London, while they waited for their errant youngest son to appear.

It is striking that Harry was not invited to stay at Clarence House or, indeed, any other royal residence. The decision to fly was so last-minute that he had to book a hotel room for the night.

And if the Prince had hoped to spend some “quality time” at Sandringham House talking about the good old days, perhaps, or rebuilding the paternal bond, he would have been disappointed.

What they actually said to each other is known only to Her Majesty, the Queen and the Duke of Sussex, but half an hour (I’m told it was a 30-minute meeting, not even 45) was not enough time to rebuild the numerous bridges. . reduced to ashes.

Not after all that contempt for the Royal Family, all the misrepresentation that comes out of Montecito for a handful of dollars.

After barely time for a greeting kiss and perhaps a hug, the King headed with the Queen to Buckingham Palace to board the monarch’s Sikorsjy S-76C helicopter.

Can’t blame Harry for flying over. Whatever reassuring sounds may come from the Palace courtiers, his father’s diagnosis is a serious matter.

However, the Prince should also spend some time reflecting on the stress he has caused the King, especially when he had to first deal with the loss of his own father, Prince Philip, and then, of course, his late mother, the Queen.

Who would be surprised if Harry was greeted with anything less than open arms?

This impromptu visit, although well-intentioned, has served as a sad reminder of the continuing rift within the family, a burden that Charles cannot afford in his current state when all his energy must be focused on the challenge of his health.

There is also the question of trust or, rather, the lack thereof.

The Prince is in such a position that even the royals closest to him will be on their guard. Inevitably so it is.

It’s as if everything said between father and son, particularly in the painful years afterward, has been divulged: first on Harry and Meghan’s painful Netflix show, and then in their excruciating memoir, Spare.

Today, as Prince Harry flies back to California, those exuberant celebrations from his 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle seem a million miles away.

One of the most touching moments came when Charles filled in for Meghan’s father, Thomas, who was in the hospital after a suspected heart attack.

Millions of viewers still remember how, immaculate in a buttonhole-embellished gray Anderson & Sheppard morning coat from the garden of his Highgrove estate, Charles smiled at Meghan and gently placed her arm under his as she approached St George’s Chapel. .

Charles was delighted to welcome Meghan into his family. A moment that could have been awkward, was charming. Almost shaking with tension, Harry turned to his father and whispered, ‘Thank you, Dad,’ a sign of the sincere love between the two.

That night, guests came out to watch a spectacular fireworks display that illuminated the darkness over Windsor Castle.

‘Who pays for that?’ Charles asked, half-jokingly, to one of the Royal Household guests, who replied: “I think so, sir.”

He just laughed.

Four days later, we saw the warmth between father and son again, in even more sincere terms.

This was the occasion of the “Prince of Wales’ 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration” at Buckingham Palace, with some 6,000 guests drawn from Charles’ approximately 400 patronages and military associations.

Inevitably, photographers zeroed in on the new Duchess of Sussex, looking impeccable in a silk crepe sheath dress and Philip Treacy dome hat. This was her first official engagement since her marriage.

However, Harry also fulfilled his role, delivering a speech of unusual self-deprecation and sincere warmth toward his father.

‘Pa,’ he said, ‘although I know that you have asked that today not be for you, you must forgive me if I do not listen to you. Much like when I was younger.

Instead, I ask everyone here to say a huge thank you for their incredible work for almost 50 years.”

He continued: “It is his selfless drive to make change, whether to improve the lives of those who are on the wrong path… or to protect a particular threatened species, that William and I are inspired by every day.”

This seems to have been the high point of affection between Charles and Harry.

Then came the rants against the Royal Family, which took their toll on both Charles and the late Queen, who found the experience boring.

However, amidst the chaos, some glimmers of hope remain. I am sure, for example, that the King still has a soft spot for his youngest son, with whom he previously spent hours arguing about the environment and sustainability, among other things.

Despite his own tribulations, and perhaps against his better judgment, Charles has extended abundant olive branches and will continue to do so.

His generosity knows no limits, even if his efforts seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Until now.

Perhaps Harry is starting to see more clearly: after all, his father is only a human being, a man who has always been there for his son and who won’t be there forever.

And William? The fact that his sister accused him of bullying is bad enough, but I know he finds Meghan and Harry’s attacks on his wife unforgivable.

Genuine, raw emotions have fanned the flames of discord between both sides, while Catherine, Princess of Wales’s recent health problems have only served to complicate matters further.

However, now that their father is undergoing cancer treatment, the responsibility now surely falls on the brothers, and perhaps on one of the brothers in particular, to do things right. Because I think it’s William who might hold the key to the resolution.

While it is no easy task to swallow your pride – and I accept that the Prince of Wales may find it harder than most – some generosity on the part of the eldest brother may well be the only way forward, for the sake of both his family as of the nation.

Perhaps, with hope and perseverance, fractured bonds can still be mended and harmony restored.

In his ghostwritten memoir, Spare, Harry recalls a moment after Prince Philip’s funeral at Windsor Castle in March 2021.

It was then that Charles stood between his children, his face flushed, and said: ‘Please, boys. Don’t make my last years a misery.

Surely, it is time for princes to heed those words.

After everything King Charles has done for them both, you might think it’s the least they can do for their father… in this time of need.

Robert Jobson is the author of the bestseller ‘Our King: Charles III – The Man and the Monarch Revealed’.