According to insiders, Charles, 72, has pulled aside some of his closest UK-based mates and asked them to help Harry see sense, and return to England with baby Archie in tow.
The insider says Charles has asked friends – including former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, mentor Mark Dyer, and lifelong friend Charlie Van Straubenzee – to have a quiet word with the 36-year-old royal rebel.
“It’s a bit of a Hail Mary from Charles as it’s clear things have never been worse between Harry and the palace, but these people are the only people Harry will listen to,” says the source.
“Things must be bad for Charles to go begging to Mark Dyer, given he’s always been jealous of Mark’s close relationship with his son – Harry used to think of Mark as more of a father figure than Charles.”
The source adds: “Until this point, Harry’s friends have been reticent to speak up because he usually cuts them, but in this case, given Charles is the future king, they might be willing to try.
But even if Harry could somehow be persuaded, the chances of his wife, Meghan Markle, heading back across the pond is far less likely.
According to Majesty editor Ingrid Seward, earlier in the year the soon-to-be-King requested that Harry bring Meghan and Archie to visit him at his Birkhall estate in Scotland by the end of the northern summer.
While, at the time, Harry was reportedly considering making the trip, the Duchess of Sussex was apparently far less willing than the Duke.
A source told New Idea: “Harry is toying with the idea of going to see (Charles). Enough water has passed under the bridge now, and he misses his dad. But Meghan has made it fairly clear she has no interest in going along for the trip, which means Archie stays too.”
“For her, there has been too much damage done and she feels if she goes back she will be made to feel like more of an outsider than ever,” the source continued, “which may be true, but I feel for Charles not seeing his grandson.”