Prince Charles has reportedly travelled to Wales to grieve in private for his late father Prince Philip and to “contemplate” the “future of the royal family”.
The 72-year-old prince is believed to have headed to his farmhouse in Llwynywermod in Llandovery in the Brecon Beacons the day after the funeral of The Duke of Edinburgh, which took place at Windsor Castle on Saturday (17.04.21).
His solo stay at the cottage also comes after he met with his sons Prince William and Prince Harry to begin mending the rumoured rift between them which surfaced after Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey last month.
And a source has claimed Charles met with both his sons at the same time at Harry’s former home, Frogmore Cottage – where he lived with Meghan until they moved to California last year – so that “nothing spoken about can be misconstrued in the future”.
A senior royal insider told MailOnline columnist Dan Wootton: “Obviously after the worldwide fallout of the Oprah interview trust has to be rebuilt.
“There was no official wake after the funeral, but Charles, William and Harry took the opportunity to speak and catch-up face to face after many months apart.
“They were only able to spend a short time together outdoors given COVID restrictions and also without staff, including senior courtiers, overhearing what was being said.
“It was important to Charles and William that they were both there together. It means nothing spoken about can be misconstrued in the future.”
During his interview with Oprah, Harry claimed his father had stopped returning his calls after he expressed a wish to step down as a senior royal.
Harry said he felt “let down” because he expected his father to understand his desire to protect Meghan from public scrutiny because Charles’ late ex-wife Princess Diana went through “something similar”.
What’s more, Meghan – who is pregnant with the couple’s second child – claimed there were “concerns and conversations” about how “dark” their son Archie’s skin would be.
Though they did not name the person who asked the question, they confirmed it was neither Queen Elizabeth or Philip, while they suggested the baby’s heritage was one of the reasons why the tot wasn’t given a title.
Moving forward, the insider has claimed the family need to ensure “all parties feel safe and protected”.
They said: “There is much pain and hurt on both sides, so this reconciliation will take place in baby steps.
“First, they need to decide on some ground rules as to how they conduct business going forward in a way that makes all parties feel safe and protected.”
Meanwhile, it was reported by the Daily Telegraph newspaper that Charles and William will host major discussions about the future of the royal family and decided who will remain working royals.
It is expected Prince Edward and Sophie Wessex will carry out more duties in the place of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex bowing out of senior royal life.