On Boxing Day, royal fans were treated to a special documentary following King Charles during the first year of his reign – giving people unprecedented access behind-the-scenes as the royals prepared for a historic Coronation.
While there were plenty of talking points from the 90-minute special - now available to stream on BBC iPlayer - there was notably something, or someone, not talked about, and that was Prince Harry.
The King’s youngest son continues to be estranged from his family, and it’s largely to do with accusations made against them in a myriad of interviews and his memoir, Spare.
While King Charles’s new documentary took the usual royal approach of “never complain, never explain,” some footage included did subtly respond to claims made against him.
In heart-warming clips, the King can be seen greeting Prince Louis and Charlotte with double kisses on the cheek, as well as enjoying jokes and affection with his eldest son, Prince William.
And this isn't the first time Charles has come across as a doting grandfather.
In one scene, the Prince of Wales humorously practices the kiss of homage with his father and jokes about which side is best. In turn, Charles also proves he can relax around his son, cracking jokes about his notorious sausage fingers.
While this might seem like a normal enough exchange between a family, it directly contradicts Prince Harry’s multiple claims that his father was unaffectionate and even left him “traumatised” due to a lack of hugs.
During an interview with trauma expert Gabor Maté, Harry said the lack of hugs he experienced growing up was “a mistake.” He shared that if he did not hug his own children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – he feared it would have a similar impact on them as he experienced growing up.
The conversation was advertised as a discussion about “living with loss and the importance of personal healing” as Harry promoted his bombshell memoir at the start of 2023.
In one telling exchange, Dr Maté discussed sections in Harry's memoir Spare which described a lack of physical affection in the Royal Family. Harry’s passage read, “No hugs, no kisses, no pats… Now and then, maybe a light touching of cheeks...on special occasions.”
Dr Mate also recounted sections from the book when he describes Charles breaking the news to him of his mother, Princess Diana’s death without hugging him, or not embracing him after being at war.
He said, “When you come back from Afghanistan, after your stint in the military, you're greeted by your father and your brother and your brother maybe hugs you.”
“You're not sure, you can't quite remember, your dad touches you on the shoulder. And you said to everybody, this looks like a normal family interaction but he was an unprecedented expression of affection.”
The Duke of Sussex responded by sharing how he’s now become almost overly-affectionate with his own children.
“It leaves me in the position of a father having two children trying to smother them with love. I feel a huge responsibility not to pass on any trauma or negative experiences that I've had as a kid or as a man growing up.”
