Prince Harry has suggested that The King’s illness might bring some form of family reconciliation.

Speaking to Good Morning America, Harry also said he was ‘grateful’ to have been able to spend time with his father following the diagnosis.

The Duke of Sussex spoke to the programme as he visited Canada in a preview of the first winter Invictus Games which will take place there in 2025.

Asked whether serious illness could have a ‘reunifying’ effect, the Duke agreed, saying ‘’I’m sure’’.

He told the programme that he had found out about his father’s illness from The King during a phone call and his priority had been to see him as soon as he could.

But he wouldn’t be drawn on other details.

The interview had been heavily trailed in advance. The majority of it was focused on Invictus and included the Duke of Sussex trying out the skeleton run which saw him careering headlong down an icy track and negotiating twists and turns that could lead to disaster unless well handled.

The interview, like the run itself, seemed to stay on just the right side of safe.

However, it was followed almost immediately by reports in The Times that the Duke has told friends he would consider a temporary return to royal duties during The King’s treatment. That idea was immediately dismissed by commentators who pointed out that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back definitively from royal life and any return would necessitate a long negotiation.

The reports came at the end of a week which saw Harry and Meghan launch a new website for the ‘’Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’’. It features the coat of arms presented to Meghan ahead of her marriage.

Buckingham Palace has made no comment on any of the matters.