Naga Munchetty questioned whether Prince Harry had “cemented divisions” with the Royal Family in a candid chat.
The BBC Breakfast presenter was joined by psychologist Jo Hemmings on Radio 5 Live (February 6) and the pair discussed King Charles’s cancer diagnosis.
The 48-year-old suggested not enough time had passed between brothers Prince William and Harry who is also said to have a strained relationship with his father, the monarch, since the release of his memoir Spare.
During her weekly radio show, they discussed the topic of how illness can bring families back together during troubled times and whether this could reunite all of the royals.
Naga commented: “Time… I mean there hasn’t been that much time that has passed. Or maybe it’s because it feels we talk a lot about Harry and the royals and their family business.
“It doesn’t feel as if there is a lot of time has passed. Time can either heal or it can cement divisions, doesn’t it?”
“I think in this particular case it has cemented divisions,” Jo replied. “It is that shock factor. You suddenly realise at the end of the day this is your parent.”
She went on: “It’s your only surviving parent in Harry’s case. Everything overrides it. All those feelings of having had a toxic relationship, all the things he is disgruntled about, they just evaporate.
“I don’t think it matters how long it is but this often happens when a family member gets very ill or sadly they pass away. You find estranged families coming together at funerals and wish they could have been with that person earlier.”
The psychologist added the good thing to come out of the health diagnosis is that it has enabled Harry and Charles to reconcile.
Last week Buckingham Palace announced that the King had been diagnosed with cancer and had started receiving treatment. Aides did not disclose what type of cancer it was but did advise it was not prostate cancer – following his recent surgery for a benign enlarged prostate.
The King underwent treatment as an outpatient last Monday at an undisclosed hospital before being flown to Sandringham, his Norfolk estate, on Tuesday afternoon following a brief meeting with his son Prince Harry.
The Duke of Sussex had “no plans” to meet with his brother William who has since returned to his royal duties.
