With Camilla Out Of Town, Insiders Say Harry Should Pounce To Heal Father-Son Rift With Charles

The latest question in the long and winding royal family feud saga is whether or not Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex should try to connect with his dad while Queen Camilla is out of town. King Charles III's relationship with Harry has reportedly "[improved] considerably" since the duke's U.K. visit last month. Now, a conversation with his dad while his stepmom is out of the picture could be the key to getting Harry back in the fold.

Charles is holding down the fort at Balmoral while Camilla vacations with friends. For the "Naughty but Nice" Substack, one palace insider told journalist Rob Shuter, "Harry knows exactly when his father is most vulnerable. Camilla being away removes one of the strongest voices telling Charles to think carefully before responding." King Charles was reportedly thrilled to see Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie when they recently made their monumental visit alongside their parents. Yet, besides William, Prince of Wales, Camilla was apparently one of the more outspoken voices urging Charles to skip the reunion. 

"William and Camilla think the whole idea is complete lunacy," a source told Heat World ahead of Harry's trip. "They've both warned Charles countless times that he's setting himself up for disaster; that Harry and Meghan [Markle, Duchess of Sussex] can't be trusted," they explained, noting that Camilla " ... made no secret of her belief that Charles is taking a huge gamble." Maybe Charles and Harry could make more progress one-on-one.

"[Prince] Harry understands his father emotionally," the source told Rob Shuter. They continued, "He knows [King Charles III] misses him, and he knows that underneath all the anger, the King wants his son back." Meanwhile, it's been ages since Harry started making it clear that he's ready to mend fences with the royal family. Now that the father-son duo is reportedly on the road to patching things up, talking alone could be all it takes to fix their relationship once and for all. The insider explained that, "Charles can be incredibly firm as King, but Harry knows how to reach Charles as a father. That is the vulnerability."

It first became apparent that Harry was hoping to get back into his dad's good graces in 2023, three years after the duke's falling out with the rest of the royals. And, in the interim, he's made numerous different attempts to try to bury the hatchet. So, if a simple phone call to his dad while Camilla is away could finally fix what's broken, it's hard to imagine that Charles won't be hearing his phone ring over the next few days.