The long-held conventional wisdom about Prince Philip and his eldest son emphasised their perceived differences
Just four days after an ailing Duke of Edinburgh was admitted to the King Edward VII’s Hospital in mid-February, the Prince of Wales made a two-hour trip from his Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire to see his 99-year-old father.
Under the Government’s coronavirus lockdown rules, such a hospital visit could only occur in “exceptional circumstances” . When Charles emerged a half-hour later, his face was covered with a mandatory surgical mask, but his distress could be seen in his rheumy eyes. He was the only member of the Royal family to visit the hospital during the Duke’s month-long stay. It was the most visible sign of a rapprochement between father and son that had taken hold in recent years.