Since quitting royal life in 2020, Prince Harry has made a series of claims about his life and royal relatives, including his father King Charles. While on the outside the monarch, 76, appeared to be close with his sons while they were growing up, Harry seemed to paint a slightly different picture in his memoir Spare, released in 2023.
In the memoir, the Duke of Sussex claimed his father was distant, suggesting he was quite cold to Harry after the death of Princess Diana in 1997. He also claimed that physical affection with King Charles was rare.
Harry claimed in his memoir: “No hugs, no kisses, no pats. Now and then, maybe a light touching of cheeks – on special occasions.”
However, a royal insider has painted the King in a very different light, telling The Sunday Times that he was actually a hands-on father, often seen running around with his sons when they were young and teaching them a number of things, including gardening.
It is believed Charles took his sons on hikes, bike rides, fishing days and shooting, with the insider saying the idea he was “emotionally distant” as a parent is a “myth”.
The source said: “I don’t think he was emotionally distant. That was one of the great myths and one of the great untruths that Diana propagated, that Charles was cold and not fun with the children, and that she was the fun one.”
While Harry has been critical of his father over the last few years, Prince William, 42, has not.
Although he has previously addressed what a workaholic his father is, William portrays his father positively.
During ITV documentary When Ant And Dec Met The Prince: 40 Years Of The Prince’s Trust, William even shared a memory from his childhood when his father came to watch him in a Christmas play, as reported by Hello!.
The prince said: “I was in some sort of Christmas play and I was a wizard and I came on and I narrated it. There was meant to be a bit of pyrotechnic explosion in front of me and I jumped on stage and nothing happened, and so I started reading it and of course at this point I was quite panicky and then the pyrotechnic went off as I was reading.
“I was like ‘Er…’ and literally he (King Charles) couldn’t stop laughing the whole way through the production and so several times I’d stop, I’d cast an eye across, a big death stare, and then I’d try and get back to my lines.”
He also said his father would send letters to William and Harry when they were at boarding school. Earlier this week, a sweet moment between William and the King was caught on camera at Westminster Abbey, with Charles giving his son an affectionate pat on the arm during a ceremony they attended together.
This came just weeks after Prince Harry’s bombshell BBC interview, in which he claimed the King “won’t speak” to him.