Plan for Prince Harry, Prince William to meet in London: ‘Awkward’

A plan for the estranged brothers to meet up when Harry is in the UK is reportedly being considered – but both know it will be “difficult”.

Plans are now underway for Prince Harry and Prince William to potentially meet up for the first time in months – but both are aware it will likely be “very awkward”, according to new reports.

Harry is expected to return to the UK for the Invictus Games’ 10th Anniversary service at St Paul’s Cathedral on May 8, although there’s yet to be official confirmation or any indication of whether Meghan Markle will join him.

Either way, according to royal author Tom Quinn, it’s put both sides in a tricky position.

“William and Kate are really nervous that whether Harry comes alone or with Meghan there are going to be difficulties and a great deal of planning is going on to try to reduce all the inevitable awkwardness and embarrassment,” he told The Mirror.

“One plan being looked at is to let the brothers appear in public for a short period to try to show they can at least be civil to each other.

“It’s a question of the lesser of two evils. If Harry comes to the UK in May and avoids his brother and Kate, there will be more damaging speculation than if they try to patch things up just enough to cope with a short meeting.”

The brothers - and their wives - had a brief and awkward reunion in London when the Queen died in 2022. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Quinn added: “Given Kate’s cancer diagnosis, Harry will certainly make efforts to see his brother and Kate when he returns to the UK in May – if it happens at all it’s to be a very brief carefully choreographed meeting and organised to last a short time so that the brothers can avoid any difficult conversations.”

The brothers have famously been engulfed in a rift in recent years, but the situation appears to be evolving somewhat as the royal family grapples with a health crisis triggered by King Charles and the Princess of Wales’ dual cancer diagnoses.

Within hours of the King’s announcement of his condition in early February, the Duke of Sussex had boarded a plane from his new home in California to London in order to visit his sick father, although the visit lasted less than an hour.

Harry flew back to the UK to see Charles in February, but it’s understood he had no contact with William. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Six weeks later, when Kate revealed her own shock cancer news, Harry and his wife released a public statement of support – and it’s understood that they then “reached out privately” to the Wales’.

However, according to The Mirror, the exchange was formal, described as “the sort of communication you would get between two slightly wary diplomats.”

In his first interview following his UK visit to see Charles, Harry indicated a willingness to reconcile with his family, particularly in light of his father’s illness.

“So my family and my life in California is as it is. I have got other trips planned,” he told Good Morning America.

“That would take me through the UK or back to the UK, so you know, I’ll stop in and see my family as much as I can.”

Following Kate’s emotional cancer announcement last month, a source close to the Wales’ told the UK’s Telegraph that “the Harry problem” is not even ranking on their priority list.

They added that trust in Harry and his wife – who have repeatedly publicly aired details of their grievances with William and Kate – is “well and truly shattered”.

The Prince of Wales is now focused solely on protecting his wife and shielding her from any added distress, the source said.