LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Prince Harry joined his father, King Charles III, for tea on Wednesday on the monarch’s London dwelling, the primary time they’ve met in effectively over a yr.
The 2 have been distant since Harry and his spouse, Meghan, left royal life and moved to California in 2020 after which publicly aired grievances in regards to the royal household.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that Charles and Harry hung out collectively at Clarence Home, the place the king lives when he is within the capital.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Harry was pushed via the gates of the four-story mansion not removed from Buckingham Palace. He was seen leaving lower than an hour later, as he ducked down within the automobile enroute to a night occasion for his Invictus Video games, which helps injured and sick service members and veterans.
There had been hypothesis that Harry may meet his father after he arrived within the U.Okay. on Monday, the third anniversary of the demise of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, for a four-day journey throughout which he’ll go to a number of of the charities he helps.
A gathering in July between representatives of the king, 76, and his wayward son, 40, led to ideas that the frigid relationship between Harry and his household could be thawing.
The cut up had deepened over the previous 5 years as Harry and Meghan aired their grievances with the royal household in a tell-all interview to Oprah Winfrey and a revealing Netflix collection. Harry, often known as the Duke of Sussex, then fueled the tensions by revealing private conversations in his memoir, “Spare.”
Harry and his father final met in February 2024, when the prince flew to London after receiving information that Charles had been identified with most cancers. Harry spent about 45 minutes with Charles earlier than the king flew to his Sandringham nation property to recuperate from his therapy.
Harry has additionally had little contact together with his elder brother, Prince William, inheritor to the throne.
Harry was final in London in April, when the Courtroom of Enchantment rejected his bid to revive a police safety element that was canceled after he stopped being a working royal. Charles was on a state go to to Italy on the time, so a gathering then was unimaginable.
That case was itself an obstacle to improved relations as a result of it concerned Harry criticizing the king’s authorities within the courts. However as soon as it was over, change turned attainable.
Instantly after the case ended, Harry mentioned he would “love reconciliation with my family.”
“There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he instructed the BBC on the day the court docket case was resolved. “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Regardless of that olive department, Harry had additionally struck a combative tone. The prince repeatedly mentioned the choice to withdraw his safety was made on the course of the royal family in an effort to manage him and his spouse whereas placing their security in danger.
“What I’m struggling to forgive, and what I will probably always struggle to forgive, is the decision that was made in 2020 that affects my every single day and that is knowingly putting me and my family in harm’s way,” Harry mentioned.
However with the lawsuit out of the way in which, there have been indicators of change.
In July, the brand new group dealing with Harry and Meghan’s communications, headed by Los Angeles-based Meredith Maines, was seen on the balcony of a personal members’ membership in London talking with Tobyn Andreae, the king’s press consultant. The Mail on Sunday tabloid took a photograph of what it known as: “The secret Harry peace summit.”
No matter who tipped off the newspaper, it confirmed a change of tone for the reason that assembly wouldn’t have occurred if the principals hadn’t given their tacit consent.
Following the long-awaited assembly Wednesday, Harry dashed to his subsequent charity look at an Invictus Video games occasion throughout city.
When a reporter requested about his father’s well being, the prince supplied his firsthand opinion: “Yes he’s great, thank you.”
