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Have Prince William and Prince Charles gotten closer since Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’s exit? One royal family expert believes that the father and son have formed a closer bond in recent months, with a Father’s Day photo of the two showing them to be very friendly.

Prince William and Prince Charles after the duke attempted and failed to throw a basket ball into the hoop from a wheelchair during a visit to the defence medical rehabilitation centre (DMRC) in Nottinghamshire
Prince William and Prince Charles | Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Prince William and Prince Charles appear closer than ever

A recent photo of Prince William and Prince Charles would seem to indicate that the two are very close, as William poses with his arm around his dad and Charles rests his head on his son. The image was captured by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and posted on Father’s Day / William’s birthday.

Royal expert Camilla Tominey believes that the father and son started to strengthen their relationship in recent years. “Seemingly at odds with the family ‘Firm,’ it was soon Harry and Meghan who were starting to feel marginalised as William and Charles worked closely together in a bid to insulate the monarchy from the crisis which threatened to pitch the Sussexes in direct competition to the House of Windsor,” she wrote in the Daily Telegraph.

“Behind palace gates, Charles was increasingly involving William in his decision making — much to the chagrin of Harry who felt pushed out by their ‘away days’ to Duchy of Cornwall estates,” she added.

Tominey continued, “He also resented William for what he perceived as ‘pulling rank.’ After all, it was Diana who insisted they be brought up as “equals.’”

Tominey shared that the sweet photo is “an even more significant milestone in what hasn’t always been an easy relationship.”

“The warmth which so obviously zings between father and son seems to signify a laying to rest of the ghosts of William’s childhood and any soreness he has felt towards his father after witnessing the traumatic fallout out of his parents’ separation as a 10-year-old boy,” she added.

Did Megxit play a role?

When Prince Harry and Meghan announced their plans to take a step back from their royal duties, Prince William and Prince Charles met with Harry and the queen to sort out the details. This effort, according to Tominey, was another way that William and Charles’ relationship was strengthened.

“The drama that ensued thrust William and Charles together as they worked with the queen to find a solution — just as they had two months earlier when Prince Andrew was forced to ‘step back from public duties for the foreseeable future’ over his links to Jeffrey Epstein,” Tominey noted.

She added, “Insiders now describe the three generations of monarchy working in ‘lockstep’, with the Sussexes’ departure said to have fostered a ‘new found spirit of cooperation’ between the trio of households.”

Kate also reportedly played a role

Tominey believes that the father and son also got closer when Prince Charles became a grandfather when the Cambridges had children.

Kate’s role should also not be overlooked, according to Tominey. “There is also another important, and often overlooked factor, in the closer bond between William and Charles: Kate — the woman who has tamed a stubborn prince, once so often at loggerheads with his father,” she noted.

Tominey continued, “Now a father-of-three in his late thirties, with Charles willingly playing the role of doting grandfather, there is a sense that William has not only forgiven him for the mistakes of the past, but also woken up to the fact his father has been as much of a positive influence as Diana, the late Princess of Wales.”

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