Prince Charles praises Prince Harry in public amid alleged rift with son

Peace talks are said to be in order after Prince Charles publicly praised Prince Harry in his Newsweek essay about climate change.

The Prince of Wales commended his children's passion for combating climate change through their respective environmental works in his essay for the magazine, which comes out on Jan. 14. In it, he mentions Prince William's prestigious Earthshot Prize that incentivises change and aims to repair the planet over the next decade.

He then praised the Duke of Sussex's work in championing sustainability in a bid to prevent climate change. He wrote, "And my younger son, Harry, has passionately highlighted the impact of climate change, especially in relation to Africa, and committed his charity to being net-zero." Prince Charles is referring to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's goal to achieve net-zero in their lives by 2030 by making choices "to offset and balance carbon footprint."

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams said the essay serves as an olive branch to the Duke of Sussex. He believes that it could pave the way for father and son to heal their alleged rift and start speaking to each other again. Christopher Andersen, in his book "Brothers And Wives: Inside The Private Lives of William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan," claimed that they have not spoken to each other since Prince Philip's funeral in April last year.

"I do think this tribute is very significant because this is one thing that Charles, William, and Harry share in common and that is the need to fight climate change. Harry's relations with his father have of course been extremely strained," Fitzwilliams told the Sun Online.

"The fact that Charles has done this in Newsweek, which has a large circulation in America, I think it's clearly a form of an olive branch in the hope that there will be a form of reconciliation," he added.

Fitzwilliams believes that Prince Charles' praise for Prince Harry's work could lead to a delay in the publication of the latter's memoir, which is set for release late in 2022. He claimed that it is only understandable if the royal would "expect something in return" with the olive branch he extended to his son.