Could Prince Harry be brought in from the cold?

For those of us who believed that hell would freeze over before the Duke of Sussex was welcomed back into the bosom of his family, it will have come as a surprise when it was revealed that Prince Harry would be telephoning King Charles on his 75th birthday this week.

It has been reported that the call went well: over the course of a warm conversation, during which Meghan also spoke to her father-in-law, plans were set in motion for more regular chats between the two. Another call has reportedly been scheduled for next week. It was also briefed that the King was sent a video of his grandchildren Lilibet and Archie singing happy birthday – as Charles has barely met Lilibet, this was a particularly well-judged touch.

The move on Harry’s part to reconcile with his father might seem surprising after his actions of the past year and the fact that the two had not spoken for months, but one tenet of the royal family has been that even its most disreputable members are brought back into the fold.