Harry is trying to shed his royal skin – but he’s a man who can’t escape his past

The sight of Harry flying in, but unable to see his father will have saddened many. But, embarking on a ‘mini royal tour’ in Nigeria isn’t going to help heal family rifts which feel as raw as ever, says Tessa Dunlop

The chasm between the royal family and Harry’s own cohort is a reminder that there are now two competing visions of royalty (iStock/PA)

Even hardened Sussex critics took a sharp intake of breath when they heard that the King would not meet Prince Harry last week. The Duke fleetingly arrived in London to headline at an Invictus 10th anniversary celebration in St Paul’s Cathedral, but despite the religious framework, he was not greeted as the prodigal son by his father.

Quite the reverse. 2.6 miles away (yes many measured the distance) the King was otherwise engaged, welcoming crowds in a top hat at his first Buckingham Garden Party of the season. The sun shone, but domestic clouds stubbornly persisted.

In the bible, the prodigal son’s father saw his boy and “had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.” No one was expecting an equivalent public display of affection from the King, for many, a smidgeon of that “compassion” would have been enough.