King Charles has received advice from spiritual leaders that has led him to consider repairing his relationship with Prince Harry, The Mail on Sunday has learned.
Sources say the monarch has found solace in their advice as he tries to cope with the death of his parents and the challenges of his new role.
Since inheriting the crown, he has spent more time exploring theologies and teaching their central tenets, including the nature of forgiveness.
A well-placed source said Charles had taken “spiritual nourishment” from his discussions with religious leaders and was now more open to the idea of a rapprochement with Harry, who has spent the past four years living in self-imposed exile in California with his wife Meghan and their two children.
“Faith has always been a part of Charles’ life and something he has explored, but since becoming king it is playing a more central role,” the source said. “That reliance on faith and quiet contemplation has become a comfort and an asset to him and helps him cope as he adjusts to being king.”
Healing the rift would require the King to put aside his anger over his youngest son’s deeply hurtful public comments.
Advice from spiritual leaders has led King Charles to consider repairing his relationship with Prince Harry, seen here with his son in 2018.
In his memoirs, Harry called Camilla his “evil stepmother” and “the other woman”. And in a television interview watched by millions, he claimed that two members of the Royal Family had made a derogatory comment about the skin colour of his son Archie.
It is well documented that Charles, 75, is smarting from the separation that has come with not seeing his grandchildren Archie and Lilibet since June 2022, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex travelled to Britain for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Like his mother, whose beliefs helped her through some of the darkest times in her life and for whom faith was placed above protocol and duty, Charles, a spiritual man and regular churchgoer, has long drawn comfort from Christianity.
But as head of the Church of England, he has pledged to protect the many faiths of a diverse Britain “with the same diligence” as Christianity.
For example, Charles has always had a close and supportive relationship with Britain’s Jewish community and is regarded as a defender of Islam. One historian notes that no other major Western figure has such high standing in the Muslim world.
Charles is a spiritual man, like his mother, and regularly attends church. He has long been supported by Christianity (pictured with the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2022)
Her coronation was a multi-faith affair, with a broader representation of religions than ever before. Participants included Hindu and Sikh leaders.
Regarding a possible reconciliation, the source said: ‘Charles misses his son.
‘He still loves Harry and wants him back for personal reasons, regardless of him and Meghan not wanting to return to royal life.
‘Harry will always be Charles’s most beloved son. He has faith that Harry can return. He misses the bond they once had, and the door will always remain open for him and his family. He does not want years of discord and disharmony to tarnish his reign.’
The prospect of a thaw in the House of Windsor feud comes at a time when Charles is said to be concerned about financial demands from the Sussexes if their television deals run out next year, as has been suggested.
Regarding a possible reconciliation, a royal source has said: ‘Charles misses his son, he still loves Harry and wants him back for personal reasons.’
People close to Harry say his father no longer answers his calls or letters. After a positive meeting in February following the King’s cancer diagnosis, relations between father and son deteriorated.
But forgiveness is a cornerstone of most religions and is considered key to a healthy relationship with God and spiritual well-being.
These belief systems consider that making mistakes is part of the human condition and that those who wish to live a good life should seek forgiveness rather than revenge.
However, a major obstacle to peace is Prince William’s intransigence.
He is said to believe his own relationship with his brother is irreparably damaged and has rejected the idea of a reunion.
William is also toying with the idea of abolishing religious Coronation oaths, which could lead to the dissolution of the Church of England.
However, his father’s faith could not be stronger. The news that Charles has received spiritual advice does not surprise those close to him. As king, Charles is also supreme governor of the Church of England with the title of “defender of the faith”.
During his first Christmas broadcast as King in 2022, he spoke of his mother’s faith in God as “a faith I share with all my heart” and how it fulfilled a lifelong wish to visit Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity.
There, he said, “he stood in silent reverence beside the silver star that is embedded in the ground and marks the place of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
He added: “It meant more to me than I can express to be in that place where, as the Bible says, ‘the light that came into the world’ was born.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment.