Prince Harry has previously described his father as emotionally distant, including memories in which Charles allegedly struggled to show affection physically. But a very different picture of the King has now emerged from Ruthie Henshall, the former partner of Prince Edward, who says she personally witnessed Charles being playful and affectionate with William and Harry when they were children.

Henshall recalled seeing Charles engaging in “rough and tumble” play with the young princes at Balmoral, describing a scene in which the boys were apparently laughing and squealing with joy as their father chased them through the corridors. It is a strikingly different image from the emotionally restrained father Harry has described in his own recollections.

Another account cited in the report paints an equally intimate picture. When Charles arrived at Highgrove by helicopter, William and Harry would reportedly run outside to greet him, racing across the field before jumping into their father’s arms for a hug. The small detail is particularly revealing because it suggests that affection between Charles and his sons may have existed in ordinary family moments that were never captured by the cameras.

That does not necessarily erase Harry’s memories. Childhood relationships are rarely experienced in exactly the same way by every member of a family, and two people can remember the same parent very differently. But the contrast is impossible to ignore: Harry has spoken about wanting affection expressed directly, while other recollections describe a father who clearly enjoyed physical play and affectionate moments with his children.

Even Harry’s own account contains a more complicated picture. In Spare, he described finding handwritten notes from Charles expressing pride in him after family dinners. Harry appreciated the messages, but also wondered why his father had not simply said those words to him face-to-face. That detail suggests the issue may not have been a complete absence of love, but a painful difference in how father and son expected that love to be expressed.

And that may be the most revealing part of the entire dispute. Charles may have believed that writing a personal letter was an intimate gesture, while Harry wanted those feelings spoken aloud and shown directly. Neither memory necessarily explains the entire relationship — but together they reveal just how differently a father and son can remember the same childhood.

The question now is not simply whether Charles hugged his sons enough. It is whether two completely different versions of the same family history have been allowed to define the public image of King Charles for years. And Henshall’s recollection has quietly added another piece to that complicated picture — one that suggests the story behind Harry’s childhood memories may be far less straightforward than it first appeared.