NADINE DORRIES: Prodigal Prince Harry’s return home the perfect opportunity to say sorry to King Charles

When I read that Prince Harry is returning to these shores from California next week, my heart soared briefly.

We all carry images of the Harry we once celebrated — the irrepressibly cheeky little boy; the 12-year-old who broke our hearts walking behind his mother’s coffin; Harry the brave soldier in afghanistan; and Harry the prince with the common touch, adored by children and adults alike.

That’s the Harry we miss.

But the scars inflicted on those who love him run deep — and with good cause following the Sussexes’ allegations of racism in the royal family and the bitter claims made in Harry’s memoir, Spare.

For me, the moment my affection for Harry — whom I’d defended over his various headline-making antics as a young man — truly evaporated was when his wife Meghan, in their Netflix documentary, mockingly acted out her curtsey when she first met the Queen.

How could he have allowed that to happen?

There is a “chance”, apparently, that Harry might see his father on this visit, but there seems to be little chance that he and his estranged brother will meet; or that he’ll visit Kate, whom he once described as “the sister I’ve never had and always wanted”.

And yet, despite my disillusionment, I see this as the perfect opportunity for Harry, the Prodigal Prince, to reach out to his family now that the first rush of shock and emotion over the respective cancer diagnoses of the King and the Princess of Wales has subsided.

The King reportedly has said he’ll always keep the door open for Harry. I don’t doubt it.

I’ve spent time with him and William alone, and witnessed the tender and hysterically funny ‘Pa’ and son banter.

I caught a glimpse of Charles as a father, and it genuinely touched me.

We expected better from Harry.

On another occasion, my youngest daughter accompanied me as my plus-one to a formal event at Buckingham Palace.

I was dumbfounded when the King walked over to greet her, and then inquired if my three girls drew straws to decide which one would come with me.

She was so taken aback that she forgot to curtsey. It’s not often I see her stuck for words!

The fact that he could remember how many daughters I had, and which of them he’d previously met, revealed that he’s a man who listens and who cares.

Indeed, I believe it is Charles the man, and not Charles the King, that we’ve come to relate to following news of his cancer — which he was determined to share with his subjects.

He’s the father-in-law who slipped from his own hospital room to offer comfort to Kate as she recovered after surgery, and who supported her over an “emotional” lunch on the day she revealed to us all that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.

And he is, of course, the husband who never hides his feelings when it comes to “my darling wife”, who is by his side in this ordeal.

As a father, the rift with Harry must be the cause of heartache to him.

Every parent knows that you’re only ever as happy as your least happy child — and Harry has looked so miserable for so long.

I pray Harry doesn’t waste this chance.

Forever at war with someone or some institution, he has continued to rail against perceived wrongs, even as his father and brother coped with the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Coronation, the ongoing fallout from the Prince Andrew scandal — and then the double health crisis.

We expected better from Harry.

He disappointed us, and that is something we rarely experience with members of the royal family, who in return for being born into huge wealth and privilege, are usually the standard bearers for commitment, sacrifice and public service.

Yes, he has let his family down, but all is not lost.

This visit, to mark the 10th anniversary of Invictus — the games he founded for wounded, sick and injured servicemen and women worldwide, and which reminds us of the very best of Harry — is a chance to say sorry.

I’ve had only the slightest insight into Charles as a father, but I can be sure the King’s arms would be open. In times of crisis family rifts often heal.

I pray Harry doesn’t waste this chance.