Fair play to Prince Harry for dropping everything and flying over to see his poor old dad, King Charles, who has revealed a shock cancer diagnosis.
The King was clearly enthusiastic about the visit, delaying his helicopter flight to Sandringham. Helicopter, eh, so much for net zero.
But the meeting between Charles and Harry reportedly lasted little more than half an hour.
That's about as long as an episode of Coronation Street, and this right royal soap opera shows no signs of a happy ending, even if this Rover has returned.
Mark Dolan shares his thoughts on Prince Harry's visit to the UK
GB News
Now, if your old man had received this worrying health news, would you find 30 minutes long enough to express your love?
I'd be bedded in for days making cups of tea, fetching warm blankets and reminding him ad nauseam what he means to me. But half an hour, less time than it takes to cook a Sainsbury's chicken kiev ready meal in the oven. And that tells you everything you need to know about the state of their relationship.
And let me tell you, whilst he's been through a lot earlier in his life and my heart goes out to him for that, these days, Harry is no victim.
It's his own family, his late grandmother the Queen, Charles, Camilla, Catherine and, most worryingly, his brother William, who have been the real victims of the Sussex's smear campaign. And with Harry having led the attacks with money, spinning books, podcasts and TV shows, it was his job this week to build bridges with his family. Now he has seen his dad. Fair enough. But why no meeting with his brother William?
If you travelled thousands of miles across the Atlantic, would you not do everything to see your only sibling, even if they've got the hump with you?
I'd be banging on the front door, begging for mercy. And why hasn't Harry been to see his sister-in-law, Catherine, hospitalised for a clearly serious condition and now recuperating at home?
Surely you'd be round there with a bunch of flowers, a card, a bag of grapes and a room temperature bottle of Lucozade to give her some energy, maybe some crosswords to keep her occupied.
If my sister-in-law had been poorly in hospital, wild horses couldn't keep me away.
Harry's blink and you'll miss it meeting with his father was matched only by his blink and you'll miss it visit to the country. Twenty-six hours in total he spent in the UK. As strong a message if you needed it, but he can't stand the place.
The contrast now between Harry and his brother William, who polling suggests is the most popular royal ahead of even his father, couldn't be more stark.
At a charity event with Tom Cruise this week it was William who looked like the big star, with Cruise one of the most famous entertainers in the world looking upon our future King with total admiration following his father's health woes, it won't be lost on William that at some point he's going to be King.
And whilst we wish Charles a speedy recovery, it's likely that the gentle transfer of power begins from now as William readies himself in the years ahead for the top job.
Meanwhile, Prince Harry doesn't seem to have a job at all. And what was his rush to leave the country rather than perhaps enjoy a second visit with his old man? Well, he had to attend the NFL Honours Awards in Las Vegas, where he cracked a few jokes. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Unless you're Prince Harry, in which case we find out bloody everything.
I'm really worried about the relationship between the royal brothers, Diana's beloved boys, and I wish they could come together again. But the Queen's funeral didn't bring them together, the unveiling of a bronze statue for their mother didn't bring them together, and now the diagnosis of a life-threatening illness for their father seized them miles apart both geographically and emotionally.
Now Harry is not beyond forgiveness and the door must remain open. But I'll be honest, I fear the damage is done and that William and Harry may never reconcile. Harry's money-spinning world privacy tour and his three-year-long moan fest may have been highly profitable, but in losing his own brother and precious time with his poorly father, the price he's paying is far higher.
We do wish the King a speedy recovery. Yes, well done, Harry, for visiting his dad. But half an hour and he's back in America. Would you not still be at home looking after your old man?
