The Duke of Sussex has revealed how his relationship with his father soured so much last year that the heir to the throne refused to speak to him on the phone.

Harry cited how their relationship worsened when Charles “stopped taking my calls” during the build-up to the announcement that he and Meghan were leaving the royal family, and said he felt “really let down” by his father.

The Duke also expressed his desire to repair things with his older brother, William, following repeated claims the pair had fallen out over Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Speaking about his father, Harry told Oprah Winfrey: “I feel really let down because he’s been through something similar, he knows what pain feels like, (and) Archie’s his grandson.

“But at the same time – I will always love him – but there’s a lot of hurt that’s happened and I will continue to make it one of my priorities to try and heal that relationship.

In 2019, the rift in the royal family was laid bare when Harry said in an ITV documentary that he and William were on “different paths” and have good and bad days in their relationship.

But he signalled to Winfrey his aim to soothe any lingering tensions between himself and his brother, Harry’s best man at his 2018 wedding.

“The relationship is space at the moment,” he said, “and time heals all things, hopefully.”

He added: “I love William to bits, he’s my brother, we’ve been through hell together, we have a shared experience, but we were on different paths.”

Meghan said reports she had reduced the Duchess of Cambridge to tears were a “turning point”, and insisted it was Kate who made her cry.

Meghan said she did not want to be “disparaging to anyone” and claimed Kate apologised with flowers and a note “to take accountability”.

Meghan also described how “everyone” welcomed her to the royal set-up initially, and recalled a touching anecdote about how the Queen shared her blanket with the former Suits star as they travelled to an engagement together.

She also said the first time she met the Queen at a lunch at Royal Lodge, Windsor, Harry asked her if she knew how to curtsey.

She said: “I remember Harry and I were in the car and he said: ‘My grandmother is going to be there so you are going to meet her.’

“I said: ‘Great’

“He said: ‘Do you know how to curtsey?’

“I didn’t think it’s what happened inside.

“I said: ‘It’s your grandmother.’

“He said: ‘It’s the Queen.’

“That was the first moment that the penny dropped.”

She said she and Harry then practiced curtseying before meeting the Queen.

She told Winfrey: “We sat there and we just chatted. And it was lovely and easy.”