PRINCE Harry broke his silence yesterday by calling his father King Charles to wish him a happy 75th birthday – their first conversation in more than six months.
The gracious monarch is also known to have spoken to his daughter-in-law Meghan during a transatlantic call on a day packed with engagements.
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Prince Harry called his father Charles to wish him a happy 75th birthdayCredit: Getty
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The Duke of Sussex yesterday broke his months-long silence over the phone callCredit: PA
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The monarch is also known to have spoken to Meghan during the phone call. Credit: Getty
The talks are said to have been friendly and cordial – the first time father and son have spoken since April, just before Charles’ coronation.
A source said: “The King has been extremely busy, but he is decent and loves his son and his grandchildren, and is not so mean that he wouldn’t answer an invitation for his birthday.”
Harry’s camp have been actively making it known that they will be calling their father – the story even appeared on the BBC website.
Despite visiting the UK several times since his coronation, Harry, 39, has not seen his father since that historic day in May.
They have not spoken face-to-face since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September last year, and the king is known to have previously been reluctant to answer Harry’s calls following a row over Megxit and his money.
Queen Camilla and Prince William also appealed to the king not to associate with Harry after he condemned the royal family and the UK on Netflix and in his memoir Spare.
But Charles said he is keeping the door open for his “dear boyfriend” and there is an open invitation for them to meet when he is in the UK.
The Sun understands that during their conversation yesterday, Harry, Meghan and Charles planned to speak again soon.
But our source added: “There’s still a long way to go to mend the rift that’s built up over many years – and the deeper problems caused by the allegations in the Netflix and Spare series aren’t going to be healed with a phone call.”
Charles insisted his birthday would be a “normal working day”.
He decided to spend it helping those suffering from food shortages and recognizing the heroic efforts of NHS staff and midwives.
He was all smiles as he was joined by Camilla in Didcot, Oxon, to launch their much-heralded Coronation Food Project, which aims to stop food waste. He laughed nervously as he was treated to a rendition of Happy Birthday at the South Oxford Food and Education Alliance.
Baroness Casey, who chairs the Coronation Food Project, told him: “It’s a great honor for us and the support for the project simply wouldn’t be there without you.”
The project was conceived by the king amid shock over food waste and the cost of living crisis.
His birthday program will work with – and raise funds for – existing food waste projects across the country, to rescue and recycle more surplus food and use it for social good.
It will also help scale up national schemes, build warehouses and buy refrigerators, freezers and refrigerated trucks.
Inside the centre’s offices, Charles and Camilla walked into the kitchen where chef Alex Mackay and a team of volunteers were preparing hot meals from leftover food.
The King spoke to food “influencers”, including Bake Off 2021 runner-up Crystelle Pereira, and chief executives of several major supermarkets and food suppliers.
Dame Martina Milburn, co-chair of the food project, said: “What we want to do is take surplus food and use it for social good. That’s it.
“His Majesty asked us what we could do to help and here we are.”
She added: “We are looking for ways to bring more surplus food into the system, create more supercentres to distribute it and financially support charities and organizations that are already working in this field.
“It was necessary for the king and his leadership to encourage the people and bring everyone together. That’s totally him.”
Later, Charles hosted 400 health professionals at Buckingham Palace – noting how he had reached his personal milestone in the same year the NHS turned 75.
Health workers from India, the Philippines, Poland and Kenya, representing 150,000 international NHS workers, met the king, along with several Palestinian nurses who had previously been displaced in Lebanon and Jordan.
Marina Brizar, from the Talent Beyond Boundaries refugee nurse programme, said that together with NHS England, the organization had so far helped 200 nurses come to Britain with their families to work in the NHS.
In the Blue Drawing Room, Charles was introduced to new Health Secretary Victoria Atkins for the first time – on her first full day in work since Monday’s cabinet reshuffle.
Last night the King was surrounded by close friends and family at Clarence House for dinner.
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The late Queen with Charles at Clarence House in 1948. Credit: Camera Press
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