King Charles was closer to his beloved grandmother growing up as Queen was 'not a comforting figure', a royal expert has claimed.
New ITV documentary Charles: Our King hears how the new monarch had an at times 'miserable childhood' and often felt lonely.
His often absent mother left him 'isolated', author Catherine Mayer believes, before the royal pair went on to build their incredible bond later in life.
Viewers saw black and white videos clips of a beaming Charles looking longingly at the Queen Mother on a train platform.
But the writer, who penned Charles: The Heart of a King, said he spent many of his early years feeling lonely due to the Queen's many official duties which would often keep her away from home for weeks.
She told the programme: "He grew up in an isolated world, I dubbed it 'Planet Windsor'.
"It operates on a slightly different set of rules to planet Earth. It looks and sounds like ours but it is very lonely.
"He was very young when his mother became Queen and the bond he had with his mother was never as strong as it might have been because she had a lot of duties.'
Experts shared their views on the documentary which examined how his childhood shaped what was a 'sensitive' youngster into the King.
Penny Junor, author of Charles: Victim or Villain? said the Queen's absence drew Charles closer to the Queen Mother growing up.
She said: "The Queen would go up and visit Charles but more often than not she held back, she wasn't that all-encompassing comfort that a child normally expects from a mother."
The ITV programme covered the Queen's 1954 Commonwealth, where she spent months away from home.
Author Mrs Mayer described the moment Charles was reunited with his mother.
She said: "Finally the royal yacht docked, and the dignitaries stood waiting. The young prince was so eager he lined up with the dignitaries to see his mother.
"The first thing she apparently uttered to him after not seeing him for these four months was "oh not you dear"."
