King Charles's one wish for his son Prince Harry - but William and Kate won't allow it

King Charles celebrated his 75th birthday last week with an intimate dinner, surrounded by close family and friends at Clarence House - and as far as birthday wishes go, the King’s may have already come true before the candles on the cake were blown out.

In a potential sign of warming relations, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reported to have made a call to King Charles, wishing him a happy birthday.

Prince Harry, 39, and Meghan Markle, 42, have been living in Montecito, California since their headline-grabbing Megxit split back in 2020, and had not been in touch with the King in over six months.

The couple previously said that they received “no contact” in relation to King Charles's evening birthday event, but any ill-feeling was put to bed as the couple reached out to wish him well on his special day.

The call was said to be “friendly and cordial”, with Prince Harry and Meghan reportedly sending a video message of their children Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, two, to the King, a gesture that left him “very emotional”.

“He was really quite taken by it”, a source told OK! Magazine. “Relations between the King and his son are still very strained, but he would never let that get in the way of having a relationship with his grandchildren, who he hasn’t seen for a very long time.”

The gesture may have spurred King Charles to consider the prospect of mending tensions, but Prince William, Kate and Queen Camilla could prove difficult to convince in the continuing royal rift.

Prince Harry made a series of damaging claims towards the pair in his book Spare, detailing a physical altercation he had with Wlliam and revealed he feared Queen Camila would be a “wicked step-mother”, referring to her as “the other woman”. Harry also claimed the Princess of Wales made Meghan cry over bridesmaids dresses for their wedding.

Royal expert Tom Bower also agrees that, although the King may want the family rift to end, there is no coming back for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

“William is absolutely determined not to repair relations. His wife Kate has been hugely insulted by Harry and Meghan, and he sees Harry as a curse on the monarchy and on their lives. He has absolutely no intention of readmitting him into his life,” he told OK!.

He concluded: “In the end, Charles probably wishes Harry could be in England as well, but I think he is alone on that. He may be King, but he can’t just bring Harry back with the wave of his wand.”

Tensions continue to be at an all-time low between the Sussexes and the Wales’s, and with Meghan and Harry’s biographer Omid Scobie preparing to release his book Endgame on November 28, which is set to include more bombshell claims that could further damage relations.

In an extract from the book released last week, the author claimed Harry had been “kept in the dark” about the Queen’s health before her death, with Scobie also claiming that William did not respond to Harry to arrange travel as the family rushed to Balmoral.

The author’s book has already been slammed by royal experts, who say the book has “absolutely nothing to it”. Royal commentator Michael Cole told GB news, "I think everybody who has said anything about it has said why do you have to go over the details over the way the Queen met her death?”

He adds: "It does seem to be seen through a Sussex focus, it says favourable things about them and less favourable things about other members of the Royal Family."