'Really quite nasty about Camilla': Truth behind Harry's 30-minute visit with King Charles

Royal experts have revealed why Prince Harry's visit with King Charles and Queen Camilla following the King's cancer diagnosis was so brief.

Harry spent just 30 minutes with his father and stepmother, putting the rumoured strain between Harry and his royal relatives on display in "stark technicolour".

Camilla Tominey, Associate Editor at the Telegraph, told Today on Thursday that claims the Duke of Sussex made in his book Spare are likely to blame.

READ MORE: Prince William has 'no plans' to see Harry during UK visit

"Once again, Harry flies in, flies out. He has that half-hour meeting with the King and the Queen [and] they then leave him in London to go to Sandringham," she says.

"I suppose a lot of people would look at that and go, 'that's quite strange', but you can't forget that Harry was so critical of the queen in Spare. 

"I mean, he was really quite nasty about Camilla, she's not going to want to hang around with him. That then puts the King in a difficult position being between his wife and his younger son."

Describing the situation between Harry and his stepmother as "tricky", Tominey predicted that we will see no end to the tension between them any time soon.

READ MORE: Prince Harry reunites with King amid cancer scare

It's also unlikely that Prince William will publicly reconcile with his younger brother, despite their father's cancer diagnosis.

There was reportedly no meeting or discussion between William and Harry during the Duke of Sussex's UK visit.

"This earlier in the week suggestion that maybe this health crisis of the only parent that they have left could bring the brothers back together doesn't seem to have happened at this stage," Tominey said.

"But I would humbly suggest Harry knows that William is in a difficult position, so he does arguably need that brotherly support more than ever."

Despite that and their father's ill health, she doubts the brothers will make peace easily.

"We've got a standoff going on where one wants an apology from the other and neither are willing to give it, so let's watch this space," she said.

While Harry has been keeping a low profile in the UK, William has returned to work

The future king handed out awards during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday morning.

READ MORE: The five Brits who decide if Charles can keep ruling

He then headed to an Air Ambulance gala dinner event in London, where he gave a speech and spoke of his wife and father's health.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you, also, for the kind messages of support for Catherine and for my father, especially in recent days. It means a great deal to us all."