Prince Charles was hit hard by Prince Harry's decision to quit the royal family and move to the US as he was closer to him than Prince William, a royal expert has suggested.
Charles and his youngest son have had a rocky relationship recently and have only met up once - at the funeral of Prince Philip - since Harry left the UK at the beginning of last year.
During his bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March with wife Meghan Markle, Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry has also appeared on the Apple TV series The Me You Can't See, where he spoke about the royals' "total neglect" and the Armchair Expert podcast, where he lashed out at Charles's parenting.
On this week's edition of True Royalty TV's The Royal Beat, the assembled royal experts discussed the life of Princess Margaret, the Queen's late younger sister.
Royal journalist and author Robert Jobson talked about how if their father King George VI had a favourite daughter, it would have been Margaret, rather than the Queen.
And when asked if that was the case with Charles and Harry, he said: "I think that he [Charles] was closer to Harry and that’s why it’s hit him quite hard with what’s happened with Harry."
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The comments come as an updated book claimed Harry has "broke the ice" and took small steps in healing his rift with Charles and brother Prince William at Prince Philip's funeral.
Harry is said to have talked briefly with Charles but the book claims issues between the two remained "unresolved".
In an epilogue in the paperback version of the couple's unauthorised biography Finding Freedom, it is claimed the sad event allowed "everyone to take a small step forward toward healing after the difficulties of the past year".
A royal source told the authors: "Where we are today versus where we were six months ago, versus where we were twelve months ago . . . there is actually progress. There are efforts on all sides."
While a friend of Harry's added: "While there’s so much work to be done, this visit has broken the ice . . . pushed a closed door slightly ajar."
Finding Freedom, originally published last year by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, chronicles Harry and Meghan's romance and brief period as members of the monarchy before they broke away to forge a new life for themselves and son Archie in the US.
The updated book, which was released this week with a new epilogue, is said to have been written with the participation of those closes to the Sussexes - however, the couple were not directly involved.
The Royal Beat - available on True Royalty TV.
