Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are ‘desperate to get back into the royal fold’ and ‘maintain connection’ for lucrative deals, experts tell PALACE CONFIDENTIAL

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s phone call to Prince Charles ‘smacks of desperation,’ a royal expert has claimed.

Speaking to Palace Confidential, Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden said the couple may be attempting to get back into the royal fold in order to exploit the connection for lucrative deals.

The Duke of Sussex is believed to have phoned his father on his birthday this week to wish him Happy Birthday – in a call thought to be the estranged royals’ first phone chat in six months.

Meghan Markle is also said to have spoken to her father-in-law, and showed him a video of the couple’s children Archie and Lilibet recorded a video of themselves singing happy birthday to their grandfather, the Telegraph newspaper reported.  

 The report claimed Charles and Harry will speak again next week after their call marked a ‘shift’ in tone and a ‘turning point’ between the pair.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s phone call to Prince Charles ‘smacks of desperation,’ a royal expert has claimed 

But Mr Eden said that sources close to Harry leaking details of the call ‘reeks of desperation’. 

‘We’re talking about two privacy campaigners here, when it comes to other people’s privacy, we get the details,’ he said.

‘To me, it smacks of desperation, of Harry and Meghan wanting to get back into the royal fold.

‘We don’t see videos of Meghan sending clips to her own father any more – but when it comes to the king they do.

‘They seem very keen to maintain their royal connection. It’s lucrative.’

The couple have previously had multi-million pound deals with Apple, Netflix and Spotify to create content.

It comes as the royal family is facing new bombshell claims from Harry and Meghan’s biographer Omid Scobie just hours after the Duke of Sussex reportedly had a ‘warm’ phone conversation with King Charles to mark his 75th birthday. 

Mr Scobie has shared an extract of his new book, Endgame, making explosive claims including that Prince Harry was ‘kept in the dark’ about the Queen’s health in the hours before she died. 

Speaking to Palace Confidential, Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden (pictured) said the couple may be attempting to get back into the royal fold in order to exploit the connection for lucrative deals

The Prince and Princess of Wales join the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for a walkabout at Windsor to meet mourners after the Queen’s death in September 2022  

Mr Scobie, who previously released a biography on the Sussexes titled ‘Finding Freedom,’ said Harry, 39, and his 42-year-old wife Meghan had ‘no idea’ the Royal Family were preparing for the Queen’s death last year. 

The author also suggests William and Harry’s relationship is beyond repair because the Prince of Wales sees his brother as a ‘defector’.

And in the extract shared with People, he claims ‘there is no going back’ for the brothers and ‘absolutely nothing has changed’ since the Duke of Sussex released Spare earlier this year.

It is not known how the new book could affect any rapprochement. Buckingham Palace has refused to comment on the extract.

Sarah Vine added that Scobie is ‘milking the last drops of cash’ from the couple after ‘making a career of fuelling the feud within the royal family,’. 

Charles and Harry are understood to have had minimal contact for months, particularly since the release of Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, published in January, and a Netflix series, which was released the month prior to that. 

King Charles celebrating his 75th birthday alongside Queen Camilla – together they officially launched The Coronation Food Project at The South Oxfordshire Food and Education Alliance

Omid Scobie’s new book is expected to make further attacks on the Royal Family 

Harry and Meghan previously said they had ‘no contact’ from Buckingham Palace about an invitation to Charles’ 75th evening birthday event.

The Sunday Times reported that Prince Harry had turned down an invitation to the birthday bash.

But a source close to the Sussexes told MailOnline they were not invited to Charles’s party.

‘They had not received any invitation and were unaware of any celebrations until the stories came out,’ the insider previously said, adding: ‘I’m sure the Duke will find a way to reach out privately to wish His Majesty a happy birthday like he has always done’. 

Buckingham Palace previously refused to discuss the King’s plans. 

Buckingham Palace refused to comment  on reports the father and son spoke for the King’s birthday and are due to speak again next week when contacted by MailOnline. MailOnline has also contacted representatives for Prince Harry for comment.

Meanwhile the Prince and Princess of Wales were seen enjoying a late night out as they departed Clarence House close to midnight after King Charles’s glittering 75th birthday party last night. 

They were joined at the monarch’s birthday celebration by his niece Princess Beatrice, Princess Margaret‘s daughter Lady Sarah Chatto and Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall.   

Lady Susan Hussey, 84, the former lady-in-waiting to the late Queen Elizabeth II, was also in attendance, sporting an elegant blue shimmering gown, while Jools Holland also made an appearance. 

Other family members attending Charles’ birthday event also included the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and David Armstrong-Jones, the 2nd Earl of Snowdon, the son of the late Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones.

In Endgame, Mr Scobie recounts how the Sussexes had visited the UK for a series of engagements in September 2022 when the palace announced that Queen Elizabeth had been advised by her doctors to rest.  

He writes: ‘By the next morning, the Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was already planning for the Queen’s final hours and the first days of the monarchy’s new era — until the duke’s phone started ringing. An unknown number. He usually ignored those.’

Meghan told her husband to pick up the phone and he accepted the call ‘just before it stopped’, the author wrote. 

He continues: ‘Harry hadn’t spoken to his father much that year, but this was not the time for any father-and-son tension. Charles told him he and Camilla were about to leave Dumfries House for Balmoral, where Princess Anne was already by the Queen’s side. He told Harry to make his way to Scotland immediately.’

Harry sent a text message to his brother William asking how he and Kate planned to Scotland and whether they could travel together but got no response, Mr Scobie claims. 

He was later told Harry had managed to secure a flight with his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

‘It was upsetting to witness,’ Mr Scobie claims he was told by a source close to the Sussexes. ‘[Harry] was completely by himself on this.’ 

Mr Scobie alleges that Palace ‘sources’ briefed certain newspapers that Charles had personally shared the news of the Queen’s illness with his son. He quoted a friend of the duke who said this left Harry ‘crushed’.

The journalists makes fresh claims about the damaged relationship between William and Harry. 

Mr Scobie even alleges that William ‘doesn’t want to know’ his younger brother, who he feels has been ‘brainwashed an army of therapists’.

He writes: ‘I was talking to a source quite early on in the process, and they called Harry a ‘defector’ and said that was William’s view.

‘These were two men who once upon a time were firmly aligned in their outlook. One of them had to move on to also protect the crown.’ 

Endgame, published on November 28, is likely to cause further disquiet at Buckingham Palace. 

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace refused to comment on Endgame when approached by MailOnline.