THE Prince of Wales is planning a televised address to the nation to mark the Queen’s 80th birthday this year.

The broadcast, expected to be transmitted on BBC and ITV on the eve of his mother’s birthday on Friday, April 21, will pay tribute to her reign.

The prince hopes it will quash persistent talk of an uneasy relationship with the Queen, caused largely by his long affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.

The couple’s marriage last year has improved the situation and mother and son now regularly have lunch together. A key role in the rapprochement was played by Charles’s two sons who, from today, will be fellow army officer cadets at Sandhurst.

“The decision to make the broadcast shows the unhappiness between mother and son is a thing of the past,” said Robert Lacey, the Queen’s biographer.

“We are now seeing them work as a partnership . . . the Queen has always seen herself as head of a family business. Whilst Charles’s relationship with Camilla was not resolved, the business was not running smoothly. Now that it has been resolved, all the different aspects of the relationship are working well again.”

The prince is said to believe that the birthday tribute should come from a member of the royal family rather than from the prime minister, or other politicians.

Officials at Clarence House have confirmed that the broadcast was one of the options being examined. An earlier plan for individual interviews with each of the Queen’s four children appears to have been abandoned.

Courtiers say that by delivering a warm, personal broadcast Charles will make up for his absence from the planning of the Queen’s successful golden jubilee celebration in 2002. “Having had a walk-on part in that celebration he will be a very visible player in this event,” said one courtier.

Charles previously broadcast short televised tributes to the Queen Mother and to Princess Margaret after their deaths in 2002.

“We call him one-take Charlie,” said an aide, who said he performed without an Autocue or notes.

The broadcast is expected to be the most high-profile in a series of celebratory events.

The Duke of York will exhibit some of his photographs of his mother in a public show at Windsor Castle at the time of the royal birthday. His pictures will be displayed alongside those of the late Lord Lichfield, a first cousin once removed of the Queen, and other photographers.

Two days before the birthday the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will host a reception and lunch at Buckingham Palace for members of the public who are also celebrating their 80th birthday on April 21.

There will be a service of thanksgiving at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on the Sunday after the birthday and, in mid-June, there will be a national service of thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, followed by a lunch at the Guildhall given by the lord mayor of London.

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