Prince Charles won't feel angry with Prince Harry for their widening rift, "just sad", a royal expert has said.
It has been reported that father and son have "barely spoken" over the last eight months and that relations between them are at an "all-time low".
It is alleged the pair have had only a few "fraught" conversations on the phone since Harry and wife Meghan Markle quit their roles as senior royals and moved to California in 2020.
Earlier this week, Harry said he severed ties with Saudi billionaire Mahfouz Marei Mubarak bin Mahfouz a year before he was presented the CBE by Charles.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly had "concerns" over the businessman’s "motives" as he donated large sums to Charles's charity.
The prince then gave Mr Mahfouz - who denies any wrongdoing - a CBE in a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2016.
And Harry's comments have been seen by some as "one-upmanship" over his father as the royal rift between the prince and his family continues.
Love the royals? Sign up for the Mirror's daily newsletter to get all the latest news on the Queen, Charles, Kate, Wills, Meghan, Harry and the rest of The Firm. Click here to sign up.
According to royal expert Camilla Tominey, those who know Charles say he won't be angry with the comments - just sad.
Writing in the Telegraph, she says one former aide told her: "The prince absolutely adores Harry. He will feel absolutely devastated by this; distraught.
"He’ll be beside himself if this means he also becomes more ostracised from his grandchildren. It’s such a sad state of affairs."
Next year, Harry is set to release a tell-all memoir, which he promises will be a "wholly-truthful and accurate" account of his life so far.
And author Andrew Morton, who famously wrote a biography on Princess Diana, says that Charles could be "in the firing line" again when Harry's book is published.
He told the Royally Us podcast: "If I was Prince Charles, I’d be looking for a pile of coats to hide under.
"Because I think that the book that’s going to come out next year is written by someone who spends a lot of time investigating father-son relationships because he ghost-wrote a book on Andre Agassi, who had a difficult relationship with his father.
"So I think we’re going to see Charles once more in the firing line.
"So if I was Prince Charles, I’d be looking for a hard hat and a flak jacket."
But according to The Sun, Charles, 73, is "keeping a dignified silence" about his relationship with his son.
