An old video of King Charles and Prince Harry has drawn fresh attention to their once-close relationship.
Harry stepped back from royal duties and moved to California with Meghan Markle in 2020. Since then, his relationship with the royal family has become strained.
In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry described his difficult childhood as “generational trauma.” He also wrote that he often felt like a backup to his older brother, Prince William.
“I was the shadow, the support, the Plan B,” Harry wrote. He said he believed he was born to help William if anything ever happened to him.
However, footage recorded after a polo match in June 2003 shows a warm moment between Harry and his father.
In the video, Charles asks the then-18-year-old Harry whether he scored two goals. Harry corrects him and says he scored three.
“Well done, brilliant,” Charles replies.
Body-language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that the exchange appeared to show Charles paying special attention to his younger son.
James said Charles chose to sit close to Harry, copied his posture and spoke quietly with him. William, meanwhile, was sitting one seat away. In her view, these actions suggest a strong sense of affection.
She also described Harry as shy and uncomfortable in front of the cameras, while William appeared more confident. James suggested that Charles may have understood Harry’s discomfort because he had shown similar shyness when he was younger.
Other public moments have also shown affection between the pair. In 2017, Charles called Harry his “darling boy,” while Harry has often referred to his father as “Pa.”
