King Charles and Prince William put on a united front as they visited Westminster Abbey for the Order of the Bath Service on Friday morning.

The 42-year-old Prince of Wales showed unity with his 76-year-old father in a rare public appearance at a historic church. This came shortly after Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, disclosed his troubled relationship with the royal family.

Prince William was seen at Westminster Abbey around 11 am, donned in elaborate regalia that included a red cloak and various gold decorations. The event, a quadrennial tradition, brought the father-son duo together for a special occasion.

Meanwhile, King Charles stepped out donning a similar elaborate red robe with gold adornments and a full train atop his military uniform. 

This joint outing of the father and son follows Prince Harry’s recent revelation about the challenges in his relationships with both the King and Prince William during a candid interview.

Speaking to the BBC after losing an appeal over his security arrangements while he visits the UK, the Duke of Sussex claimed Charles ‘won’t speak to me’ and alluded to the king’s health by saying ‘I don’t know how much longer my father has left’.

The Duke, 40, went to court hoping to change the decision to give him downgraded security after Megxit – however, after his appeal was thrown out.

In the extraordinary interview, the California-based royal alleged his father could have ‘resolved’ the dispute over his security arrangements if he wanted to – after Harry claimed to have ‘uncovered shocking truths’ about the Royals’ involvement in the decision. 

It was the first time that Prince William had attended the service, having been appointed to the ancient order last year by the King following his accession. 

Meanwhile, Charles took part for the first time as sovereign of the order, which is awarded to members of the military or civil service for exemplary work and this year celebrates its 300th anniversary. 

Sporting the order’s billowing satin robes, father and son arrived at the Abbey’s Great West Door separately on Friday, shortly after 11am to be greeted by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle.

Inside, Charles greeted William warmly, with an affectionate pat on his shoulder, before they enjoyed a brief, jovial conversation with the dean in the Chapel of Saint George.

They then walked through the church with officers, knights and the Dame Grand Cross of the order before taking their seats in the Quire.

The King was accompanied by his young page Guy Tryon, ten, the son of his godson, Lord Charles Tryon, and the grandson of the late Lady Dale Tryon, an Australian socialite who was a close friend of the king.

The service was conducted by the Dean, who read the lesson from St Paul’s epistle to the Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 – 8 and gave the address.

As it took place the King and Prince William proceeded to the Henry VII Lady Chapel for the installation ceremony, which took place below the banners of living knights hanging above the stalls and was relayed to the congregation on television screens.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier and Admiral Sir Philip Jones took the oath as Knights Grand Cross of the Order and were installed, while General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith and Lord Young of Old Windsor – Elizabeth II’s former private secretary – and Sir Tom Scholar, took the oath but will not be installed until spaces arise. There is always a limited number of members.

In the chapel, the Bath King of Arms bowed to those being installed before they stepped up to their stalls.

The King then presented the Book of Statutes to his son before the Prince and the Dean read the oath simultaneously.

Each Knight then took the oath before bowing to the Grand Master.

After both the King and the Prince had made an offering of gold and silver at the altar, Knights who had taken the oath turned towards the altar, behind Prince William, who drew his sword.

The Knights followed suit, holding their swords forward before the Prince’s sword was briefly laid upon the altar. William then sheathed it again, before the group processed back to the Quire to Elgar’s Nimrod.

William and Charles’ visit also come after Harry also alleged his father could have ‘resolved’ the dispute over his security arrangements if he wanted to – after Harry claimed to have ‘uncovered shocking truths’ about the Royals’ involvement in decision. 

He claimed his ‘jaw dropped’ when he discovered the Royal Household sat on the ‘secretive’ Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) that decided to withdraw Harry’s taxpayer-funded police protection in the UK. 

He insinuated that more could have been done by the monarch, as well as the King’s private secretary Sir Clive Alderton, who had a position on Ravec.

Harry told the BBC: ‘There is a lot of control and ability in my father’s hands.

‘Ultimately this whole thing could be resolved through him.’

He added that while Charles ‘won’t speak to me because of this security stuff’, Harry hoped to reconcile with his family as ‘there’s no point continuing to fight anymore’. 

Despite his plea for reconciliation, experts suggested the scorched-earth interview may, in fact, have driven the wedge between Harry and the royal family even further – as a palace source claimed they have ‘zero trust’ in the Duke. 

‘The family feel that private conversations with Harry are not possible,’ an insider told Hello, after the emotionally charged BBC interview. 

The outlet further claimed that even if Charles were to rekindle a relationship with his youngest son, the same can’t be said for Prince William, who has reportedly abandoned all hope of repairing his relationship with his brother.

William, instead, appears focused on supporting Charles, with Friday’s engagement at Westminster Abbey marking a rare, joint appearance for the monarch and his heir. 

The event is Charles’ first Service as Sovereign, with William acting as Great Master of the Order during the ceremony, which includes the oath taking and installation of five Knights.

The King last attended the ceremony as Prince of Wales in 2022 in his role as Great Master of the Order – one that he has held since 1975. 

During his final appearance as the Great Master, before William takes over from his father on Friday, Charles donned his full regalia for the ceremony that honours officers of the Armed Services and civil servants. 

It is a role traditionally carried out by the monarch, however Charles performed the duties on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, during the 2022 ceremony. 

Charles first stepped in for the late Queen, who died on September 8, 2022, at the Order of the Bath Service in 2014 – after aides feared that the steps at the Abbey were ‘too steep’ for her while dressed in full regalia.

This year’s service was brought forward by one year to coincide with the 300th anniversary, meaning that the next one will not take place until 2030.

The event is always a particularly special one as the congregation is comprised only members of the order and their guests.

The order consists of up to 120 Knights and Dames Grand Cross, 295 Knights and Dames Commander, and 1455 Companions, in addition to the Sovereign and the Great Master.

It is the fourth most senior order of merit, after the Orders of the Garter, the Thistle, and of St. Patrick.

The order was established by George I on May 18, 1725, taking its name from the symbolic bathing which was often part of the preparation of a candidate for knighthood.

The honour was only conferred on a knight after he had performed a number of rituals designed to purify the inner soul – fasting, vigils and prayer.

Ahead of Friday’s service, King Charles joined Queen Camilla at a charity function in London on Tuesday, May 13. 

The royal couple attended a reception and awards ceremony for Elephant Family, set up by Camilla’s late brother Mark Shand, who tragically died aged just 62 after falling and suffering a head injury in 2014.

The star-studded event at The Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, West London, attracted guests including Princess Beatrice – who looked stylish in a red Rebecca Vallance gown – Lady Marina Windsor, Ronaldo Nazario, the Brazilian footballer, actors Ed Westwick and Amy Jackson and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

In an impromptu speech the King, who accompanied his wife as joint president of the charity, which is now part of Charles’ British Asian Trust, said ‘collaboration is far better than conflict’ as he gave an impromptu speech. 

During the function, Camilla, 77, became emotional as she watched a posthumous video of her brother in which he spoke about his ‘optimism’ for saving endangered elephants that brought her to tears. 

Meanwhile, Prince William handed out honours to English Olympian Keely Hodgkinson and former Formula One driver and sports broadcaster Martin Brundle at Windsor Castle yesterday. 

Speaking as Hodgkinson, 23, received an MBE at Windsor Castle yesterday, Prince William told her that Princess Charlotte, 10, watched her win gold at the women’s 800m at the Paris Olympics last year.

The athlete later revealed that the Prince, 42, also shared that Charlotte, who recently celebrated her 10th birthday, is currently training for the 400m ‘at the minute and the hurdles’.

During their exchange at Tuesday’s investiture ceremony, William also told Hodgkinson that ‘he wished he could be there’ to watch her take gold in person.

‘He told me that he remembers me winning and that he wished he could be there to see it himself,’ the Manchester-born Olympian told PA.