Prince Harry’s request for a meeting with King Charles is rejected despite prior notice

Prince Harry’s hopes of meeting his father King Charles III for a second time during his current visit to London have been dashed, despite the Duke of Sussex reportedly requesting the reunion “more than a month” in advance, Daily Express reported Wednesday. The king’s “full range of duties” has been cited as the reason for the inability to facilitate a father-son meeting, sparking debate among royal experts and insiders about the state of family relations.

According to a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex, “Unfortunately this will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full schedule. The Duke obviously understands his father’s diary with commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.” However, royal historian Hugo Vickers states that if the king really wanted to see his son, he would find the time to do so. “If the King wanted to see Harry, he would find time very easily,” Vickers told Page Six. “You can never be too busy to see your son.”

The differing opinions on the issue highlight the ongoing tensions within the royal family, especially between Prince Harry and his brother, Prince William. The Duke of Sussex invited several senior royals to attend the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, a sporting competition he developed in 2014 for injured and disabled military personnel, but none accepted. This has led to speculation about the depth of the rift between the brothers and the rest of the family.

Explaining Prince William’s absence from the Invictus Games event, a royal insider said: “William is a hop and skip from the throne, with a sick wife and three young children – he’s got plenty on his plate.” The Prince of Wales will also make appearances in both Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly this week, marking his first overnight trip away from home since his wife, Princess Kate, announced her cancer diagnosis in March.

Royal author Tom Quinn suggests Prince William’s decision to skip the Invictus Games event is a deliberate move to avoid appearing ruthless towards his brother. ‘William hates that Harry has washed so much royal dirty linen in public; he doesn’t want to be seen as the one who’s ruthless,” Quinn explained. “William knows the world will be watching as his little brother rides into town, and as king-in-waiting he knows people expect him to be mature and magnanimous.”

The last time Prince Harry met King Charles was on February 6, the day after the monarch announced his own cancer diagnosis. A royal insider with knowledge of that meeting revealed that the king was ‘exhausted and desperate to get to Balmoral’ and was ‘desperate on the road and was delayed until Harry turned up’. The short 30-minute meeting further underlines the tense relationship between father and son.

Despite the current tensions, some royal analysts believe that a physical reunion between Prince Harry and Prince William is “inevitable,” whether it takes place during King Charles’ reign or at the time of his death when Prince William takes the throne. As one royal insider put it: “Whether it’s while his father is still ruling or at the big moment when the King dies and William takes the throne, the meeting between Harry and William will eventually happen.”

Related Posts