A collection of small seedlings and buds from the 50ft (15m) tree were propagated by the National Trust at the charity's conservation centre in Devon. King Charles is patron of the charity, which has so far bred more than 100 seedlings and more than 40 cuttings. The first seedling will be looked after by horticulturalists until it is ready for planting. "It is wonderful news that His Majesty will one day have the very first sapling grown from this iconic tree," said Hilary McGrady, director general of the National Trust. "The new tree will be seen by many thousands each year and will be the first of many Sycamore Gap saplings planted at different places, in Northumberland and beyond." She added: "These new green shoots are keeping the story of the Sycamore Gap alive and are serving as a reminder of the simple and much-needed hope, joy and respite that nature can bring." The seedling was first seen by the public at the Chelsea Flower Show on 20 May, when Dame Judi Dench placed it in the Octavia Hill garden. The National Trust gifted the King the seedling on 27 May, which is Celebration Day, a national day dedicated to remembering and celebrating people who are no longer with us.

 

King Charles appears to be keeping his focus away from the ongoing saga with Prince Harry, a close family friend has revealed.

Despite hopes for a reconciliation during Harry's recent trip to London, it seems father and son did not manage to bridge the gap. A spokesperson for Harry commented that King Charles was "busy" with a "full programme".

"The duke of course is understanding of his father's diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon," they added.

Yet, there's been some confusion about this account. Reports have emerged suggesting that although King Charles agreed to Harry's request to stay at a Royal residence, the Duke opted for a hotel stay instead.

On the podcast 'The Royals with Roya and Kate', Sunday Times Royal Editor Roya Nikkhah shed light on the situation: "All the narrative from the moment he [Harry] touched down and we got that statement from Harry's spokesperson saying it's not possible for Harry to see his father, his father is too busy, he completely understands. That set the mood music for the whole week that Harry had said Pa is too busy to see me.", reports the Mirror.

"I just thought something didn't feel quite right about this, so I dug away and dug away a bit deeper and found out that actually, Harry had asked if he could stay and Charles had said yes, come and stay son.

"You come and stay in a royal residence, you are near where I am so it's going to be much easier for me to see you given what's going on with my diary and your diary."

"And that turned everything on its head because the narrative from Harry that I wanted to see my father but he is too busy to see me, actually the reality was Charles said yes please do come and stay in a royal gaff and that would make it much easier for me to see each other."

Kate Mansey, The Times assistant editor, commented: "Someone at the palace told me that the King was bruised by that statement that Harry put out, which all plays into exactly why."

A supposed close source to the Royal family disclosed to The Daily Beast: "Relations are as bad as they have ever been. Nothing has been resolved. But Charles does not spend a great deal of time dwelling on the matter because he is so busy."

When questioned about the recent speculation that William might be the barrier to Charles and Harry patching things up, the insider revealed: "If William was prepared to reconcile with Harry it would certainly make things easier, but that's not the whole story. The king was particularly hurt by what Harry said about Camilla."