Prince Harry may once have had a close bond with royal relatives – but that now all seems to be in the past.

Since he and wife Meghan Markle sensationally quit royal life four years ago, relations with the likes of King Charles and Prince William have been rocky to say the least. And it has meant that face-to-face meetings between Harry and his father and brother have been limited to just a handful of times. One of those tense reunions came in April 2021 when Harry returned for the funeral of the late Prince Philip, which took place exactly three years ago today.

Prince Harry at Prince Philip’s funeral exactly three years ago ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
It was just weeks after his bombshell tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey – and it proved to be a major flashpoint in his rift with his family and prompted Charles to issue a heartbreaking plea to his two sons. Writing in his memoir Spare, Harry claimed that he, his brother and his dad all got together after paying their final respects to Philip to thrash out their issues. Harry said that it came after he felt “cut off” when explaining his feelings to his dad and brother and a heated argument ensued between him and William.

And according to the Duke, it prompted Charles to beg as he looked at their flushed faces: “Please, boys – don’t make my final years a misery. Later in the book, Harry also said he was “stopped cold” during the exchange when William used a “secret code” they had for “times of extreme crisis”.

Harry and William in the procession at their grandfather’s funeral in April 2021 ( 
Image:
AFP via Getty Images)

Harry recalled in the book how William forced him to look into his eyes so he could tell him that he loved him and wanted him to be happy. He then says he told his brother that he loved him too but that his “stubbornness is extraordinary” and pulled away. He goes on to claim that William pulled him back and said: “Harold you must listen to me, I just want you to be happy, Harold, I swear, I swear on mummy’s life.”

And Harry added: “It stopped me cold, as it was meant to. Not because he’d used it, but because it didn’t work. I simply didn’t believe him.” Meanwhile, a friend has claimed that Charles healing his rift with estranged son Harry is not his top priority.

Sources previously said the King and Queen Camilla were left ‘furious’ and ‘wearied’ by the claims Harry made in his bombshell book. They also included Charles not hugging Harry after the death of his mother Princess Diana and his stepmother Camilla “sacrificing” him in exchange for good PR.

However, in February when it was revealed that the King was undergoing treatment for cancer, Harry flew across the Atlantic in order to see his father, prompting speculation the two men may be on the point of rebuilding their relationship. Afterwards Harry suggested the King’s illness could lead to a reconciliation with his father as he spoke about the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.

In an interview with a US breakfast show, he also said I “love my family” and that he was “grateful” to be able to spend time with his father. He said: “Look, I love my family. The fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see him and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that.”