Rumours swirled that the Duke of Sussex missed a family tradition because of his wife Meghan Markle.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spent Christmas 2017 at Sandringham (Image: Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Prince Harry and King Charles once shared a heartfelt interview showing the once sweet bond between them, just days after Meghan Markle was accused of being the reason why Harry missed a traditional family event. In 2017, The Duchess of Sussex, 43, spent her first royal Christmas at Sandringham with Harry and she described the festivities as “amazing”.

However, while the couple appeared to have a great time with Harry’s royal relatives, rumours soon started after Harry, 40, returned to London early, missing the annual Boxing Day pheasant shoot. Meghan was accused at the time of stopping the prince from going, however it seems there was another factor at play.

As reported by The Daily Mail, Harry’s absence was reportedly due to the fact he had agreed to guest edit the BBC Radio 4 Today programme on December 27 in London. As well as talking live on the programme, a pre-recorded interview with Barack Obama and his father – then Prince Charles – was aired, showing the once sweet bond between father and son. Charles said in the interview: “What I’ve tried to do all these years is make sure that I can ensure that you and your children, my grandchildren, also everyone else’s grandchildren, have a world fit to live in.”

Harry replied: “I totally see it and I totally understand it because of all these years of conversations that we’ve been having. I do end up picking your brains more now than I ever have done.”

The King then replied: “Well, darling boy, it makes me very proud to think that you understand.”