Prince Charles shares RARE throwback pic with William and Harry on Father's Day amid brothers' rift
Prince Charles reminded royal fans of happier times with sons William and Harry in a series of poignant photos to mark Father's Day. The images came after it emerged this week that the brothers' relationship had hit "rock bottom".
The Prince of Wales, 73, shared three photos on the Clarence House Instagram page. "Wishing everyone a very happy Father’s Day!" the caption read, with a photo of his sons appearing as the final image in the post. The throwback photo showed a laughing Prince Charles, wearing a kilt and hugging his boys during a trip to Birkhall, his home on the Balmoral estate in the 1980s. The other photos included a photo of Charles with Prince Phillip, both in military uniform, and another of Camilla with her father Major Bruce Shand.
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The emotional photos took viewers back to happier times and served as a reminder of the breakdown of the relations between William and Harry. Friends of William revealed this week that the royal is "mourning" the collapse of his relationship with his brother that has hit "rock bottom", adding there was only a slight chance they would mend it in the near future.
One source close to William told the Daily Mail, "He truly loves Harry and feels he has lost the only person, aside from his wife, who understood this strange life of theirs. But he believes there are things you just don’t do. And Harry has 100 per cent crossed that line."
Another offered, "William is very principled and believes Harry has crossed a line. He’s thrown accusation after accusation, knowing that silence is the family’s only option because they don’t want to get dragged into a public slanging match. He sees how upset his father has been by it all, and it hurts. William is absolutely allergic to drama, but Harry has ensured that their family laundry is being aired on a global scale.”
Yet another royal insider added, "Harry always had concerns about life within the Royal Family and in hindsight, the pressure that was put on him and William by living and working together as some sort of dynamic duo put a massive strain on their relationship. They had no room to breathe. But Meghan complicated it. He [Harry] got drawn into a space where he was encouraged to think he was a victim and had to flee.”
William, who turns 40 this week, shared his own Farther's Day photo with his three children. Posted on the Cambridges' Instagram, the photo was reportedly taken during a family holiday to Jordan. It showed William sitting between Prince George, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4, who was perched on his father's shoulders.
William is expected to celebrate his 40th birthday on Tuesday, June 21, as he and his wife Kate Middleton prepare to announce a move to Windsor. The latest photo was reportedly not taken by the Duchess of Cambridge, who is an avid photographer herself. According to Kensington Palace, it was captured by a private, unnamed photographer during a getaway last autumn, the Daily Mail reported.