The Duke of Sussex travelled back to Windsor in April 2021 to attend the socially distanced funeral of his grandfather Prince Philip, leaving a heavily pregnant Meghan Markle at home in California.
During his visit Harry recalled in his memoir Spare that he request a chat with his estranged father and brother, just weeks after the infamous Oprah Winfrey aired.
While waiting for them to arrive for the meeting Harry said he was anxious they would not turn up, but eventually saw them approaching with a “grim, almost menacing” look.
As they greeted each other Harry referred to them affectionately by his names for them, “Willy” and “Pa”, to which they responded with a single “painfully tepid” word – “Harold”.
Prince Harry had a tense exchange with Prince William and King Charles (Image: Getty)
The Duke was nicknamed Harold by his family, even though his full name is actually Henry.
In Spare Harry wrote: “At last, I saw them. Shoulder to shoulder, striding towards me, they looked grim, almost menacing. More, they looked tightly aligned. My stomach dropped.
“Normally they’d be squabbling about one thing or another, but now they appeared to be in lockstep – in league. The thought occurred: Hang on, are we meeting for a walk…or a duel?
“I rose from the wooden bench, made a tentative step towards them, gave a weak smile. They didn’t smile back. Now my heart really started thrashing in my chest.”
Charles with his two sons in happier times (Image: Getty)
He continued: “Deep breaths, I told myself. Apart from fear, I was feeling a kind of hyper-awareness, and a hugely intense vulnerability, which I’d experienced at other key moments of my life. Walking behind my mother’s coffin. Going into battle for the first time. Giving a speech in the middle of a panic attack.
”There was that same sense of embarking on a quest, and not knowing if I was up to it, while also fully knowing that there was no turning back. That Fate was in the saddle.
“OK, Mummy, I thought, picking up the pace, here goes. Wish me luck. We met in the middle of the path. Willy? Pa? Hello. Harold. Painfully tepid.”
Harry and William have found it difficult to patch things up (Image: Getty)
In Spare, which was published in January 2023 to huge commercial success, Harry divulged many behind-the-scenes details of life as a royal.
But, as he later told The Telegraph, there was so much material he had to omit several stories about his family relationships.
The Prince said: “It could have been two books, put it that way. And the hard bit was taking things out.
“There are some things that have happened, especially between me and my brother, and to some extent between me and my father, that I just don’t want the world to know. Because I don’t think they would ever forgive me.”
