A traditional greeting between royal men of a kiss on the cheek was not afforded to the Duke of Sussex last week, former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole has claimed.
Prince Harry had made the trip across the pond to visit King Charles last week upon hearing of his shock cancer diagnosis.
The Duke’s visit was far from convenient for the monarch, Cole claimed during his GB News interview, adding that Charles was keen to avoid contracting any possible infections from his son.
“I can’t see what it has achieved that couldn’t have been achieved by a video link”, he said.
Michael Cole spoke on claims Harry 'didn't want to be in the same room' as Camilla
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“The important thing for somebody who has just got cancer is not to contract any infections.
“Harry had been at 30,000 feet, breathing the same air of up to 150 other people.
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“You can bet your life that the usual greeting of royal men, a kiss on the cheek, was not on offer.
“When the prodigal son returned to Clarence House, I don’t think there was going to be any embracing there.”
Cole added that while he struggles to see what Harry “achieved” with his whirlwind trip across the pond, he believes it was a “sincere” gesture to his father.
“I think as so often, he has a tin ear for these things”, he said.
King Charles was diagnosed with cancer GETTY“He reads it wrong and I think whoever is giving him PR advice is either not being listened to, or is giving the wrong advice.”
Harry’s visit, prompted by the King’s shock diagnosis, sparked hopes of a royal reconciliation.
The Duke of Sussex’s departure from frontline royal duties and subsequently Britain in 2020 sparked a series of staggering claims in interviews, documentaries and a memoir.
His claims have not gone down well with his family members and frosty relations have ensued.
He was left barely on speaking terms with his two closest relatives – Charles and the Prince of Wales.
Harry’s controversial memoir Spare further damaged his ties with his father and brother, making claims William physically attacked him, the King put his own interests above Harry’s and was jealous of the Duchess of Sussex.
In a television interview to promote the book when published last January, the Duke revealed the state of his relationship with Charles and William, saying he was currently “not texting” his brother and at the time had not spoken to his father for “quite a while”.
But according to a well-placed source, the Duke’s meeting with his father is cause for optimism, they told the Express.