King Charles meets David Beckham but sullen Prince Harry is on the sidelines

Charles discussed his charitable foundation at a private meeting with the former footballer, but was unable to see his younger son.

The King with David Beckham in 2019. Picture: John Sibley - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Even in his gardens at Highgrove yesterday (Friday) the King was still working as he continued his return to public duties.

The Times understands that David Beckham, the former England football captain, met the King for a private meeting. No pictures were released and no press notice was issued.

Beckham is understood to have visited Charles to learn more about his charity, the King’s Foundation.

The report of the meeting could also make uncomfortable reading for the Duke of Sussex.

During Prince Harry’s visit to the UK this week a spokesman for the duke said that the King’s diary could not accommodate a meeting with his younger son, who was attending an event less than two miles from Buckingham Palace.

To later discover, however, that his father could find time to catch up with one of the world’s most famous footballers will surely add to his dismay.

Although royal diaries are often planned months in advance there could have been another discrepancy in his father’s schedule that caught Harry’s eye.

The King’s diary could not accommodate a meeting with his younger son. Picture: Daniel LEAL/AFP

When the King made his first military-related appearance at an army barracks in Hampshire on Thursday, Charles described it as a “surprise”. However, a lieutenant colonel let slip that the visit had been planned a week in advance.

Given that the King will have known the dates of Harry’s visit months ago and that it involved a service at St Paul’s to which he was invited, it leaves the question - why did he not want to meet his younger son?

A spokesman for the duke said: “It unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme. The duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”

Within the Palace, some say that it is not that simple. Maintaining the “never complain, never explain” stance that served the late Queen so well, the Palace has declined to get drawn into the details of why an appointment time between father and son could not be found.

Nevertheless, some have taken umbrage at Harry’s ill-timed statement. A friend of the King said: “The Palace has been left bruised by the suggestion that it was a snub [to Harry] but remain determined not to get drawn into briefing wars.”

The friend added that reports that Harry had invited his father to the cathedral for a service to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games, or suggestions that the duke had requested a meeting with his father at any other point during his UK visit “should be treated with a good deal of suspicion”.

The allegation, inferred by some from the duke’s statement, is thought to be particularly hurtful as courtiers were unaware that Harry had made a specific request to meet his father.

With two Netflix shows coming out, including one involving the Duchess of Sussex that features cookery and another of Harry exploring the world of polo, the palace could be forgiven for being cautious when it comes to meetings between the prince and the King.

Harry complained in a previous Netflix documentary series that palace courtiers had blocked him from seeing the late Queen. He said his grandmother had invited him and Meghan to stay but then aides said she was busy.

Harry added: “Once we were back in the UK I rang her and said, ‘I’m now told that you’re busy.’ She goes, ‘Yes, I didn’t know I was busy. I’ve been told that I’m busy all week.’

“I was like, ‘Wow.’ ”

When Buckingham Palace announced in February that the King had had cancer diagnosed, Harry moved fast. He flew to the UK to see his father but was granted only a 45-minute meeting while his stepmother, Camilla, was also in the room.

Within the hour, the King and Queen had departed Clarence House for Sandringham. An invitation was not extended to the prince to travel to Norfolk with them.

During the past months Harry has intimated that he would like to be reunited with his family.

Before flying to Nigeria with his wife, who is thought to have joined him in the Windsor suite at Heathrow, Harry gave a short interview to the BBC.

He said it was “great” to be back in the UK. While speaking to a US network earlier this year, however, he did not rule out the chance of becoming an American citizen, saying it was a thought that had crossed his mind.

Documents registered at Companies House show that Harry had listed the US as his country of residence.

The next large-scale reunion of the royal family will be the annual Trooping the Colour parade to mark the official birthday of the sovereign. Harry and Meghan attended the event in 2022 but were not at the celebration last year.

On Monday there will be a clear sign where the King’s priorities lie, however, when he officially hands the colonelcy of the Army Air Corps to his son and heir, the Prince of Wales.

As a trained Apache helicopter pilot, Harry served with the same regiment and made two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

While friends of the duke have said that Harry would still be willing to undertake some semi-official duties, the fact that the King hasn’t seen him since February makes this seem extremely unlikely.

THE TIMES