Prince Harry meets with King Charles for first time in 19 months
Prince Harry has shared tea with his father at his Clarence House residence in London after the prince appealed for reconciliation earlier this year.
Prince Harry joined his father, King Charles, for tea on Wednesday at his Clarence House home in London, the first time they’ve met in well over a year.
The two have been distant since Harry and his wife, Meghan, left royal life and moved to California in 2020 and then publicly aired grievances about his family.
Harry was driven through the gates of Charles’ London home following an earlier engagement at the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London. He stayed about an hour.
The Duke of Sussex had arrived in the UK for Monday’s third anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II and for a series of visits to charities he supports.
The last time he saw his father was in February 2024, when the prince flew to London after receiving news Charles had been diagnosed with cancer.
On that visit, Harry spent about 45 minutes with Charles before the king flew to his Sandringham country estate to recuperate from his treatment.
Harry has also had little contact with his elder brother, Prince William, heir to the throne.
He was last in London in April, when the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to restore a police protection detail that was cancelled after he stopped being a working royal. Charles was on a state visit to Italy at the time, so a meeting then was impossible.
That case was itself an impediment to improved relations because it involved Harry criticising the king’s government in the courts. But once it was over, change became possible.
Immediately after the case ended, Harry said he would “love reconciliation with my family.”
“There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he told the BBC on the day the court case was resolved.
Despite that olive branch, Harry struck a combative tone that might torpedo hopes of repairing the family breach. The prince repeatedly said that the decision to withdraw his security was made at the direction of the royal household in an effort to control him and his wife while putting their safety at risk.
“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 said.
He also revealed Charles “won’t speak to me because of this security stuff” and as a result, he said doesn’t know how long his father, who is receiving treatment for an undisclosed type of cancer.
But with the lawsuit out of the way, there were signs of change.
In July, the new team handling Harry and Meghan’s communications, headed by Los Angeles-based Meredith Maines, was seen on the balcony of a private members’ club in London speaking with Tobyn Andreae, the king’s press representative.
The Mail on Sunday tabloid took a photo of what it called: “The secret Harry peace summit”. Regardless of who tipped off the newspaper, it showed a change of tone since the meeting wouldn’t have happened if the so-called principals hadn’t given their tacit consent.
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