Meghan Markle hasn’t returned to the UK since September 2022 – but she is still keeping up-to-date on her husband’s engagements during his four-day visit this week
Prince Harry arrives at the WellChild Awards
Prince Harry might be thousands of miles away from his wife Meghan Markle this week, but she’s still showing her support from afar.
On Monday evening, Harry attended the WellChild Awards in London, alongside a host of famous faces. At the event, which champions inspirational young people in the UK who are seriously ill, he spent time with some of the young recipients and nominees, and showcased his playful side – at one point having a balloon sword fight with a little girl.
The moment clearly touched Meghan, who is at home in Montecito with their two children. She shared a short clip of the interaction on her Instagram Stories on Tuesday, adding two pink love hearts emojis to the footage. It’s the first time she’s posted on social media since Harry landed in the UK.
READ MORE: Prince Harry’s UK pals ‘make pact as homesick prince sends unusual texts’READ MORE: Prince William should reject a reunion and ‘tell Harry to go back to the USA’ – poll results
Harry was last seen in the UK in May, when he lost a long-running legal battle with the Home Office over changes to his security arrangements.
In recent months, he has spoken openly about his desire to reconcile with his family, and there is speculation that he might see his father the King, who was at Birkhall, his Scottish residence, as he privately marked his mother’s death on Monday.
The monarch does have a number of private audiences and meetings this week, which could, potentially, bring him back to the capital.
Reconciliation hopes were reignited earlier this summer when senior aides from both Charles and Harry’s teams were spotted at a secret meeting in London. It was was seen as the first step towards restoring their relationship.
No such luck with Prince William, however. According to insiders, the future king has absolutely no desire to see his brother during his return to the UK and they are not expected to meet.
On Monday, the estranged brothers were just eight miles from each other as they paid their respects to the nation’s longest-reigning monarch and their late grandmother on the third anniversary of her death yesterday.
And they went head-to-head on Tuesday with separate engagements in the UK; in fact William has official engagements on every day of Harry’s stay.
The Duke has made it clear in recent months that he would like resolution with his family, but it might not be so easy to paper over the cracks.
A key area of concern for the royals is said to be trust. Harry has been accused of betraying his family by sharing many of their confidences, with fears that whatever Harry is told, ends up in the press.
Royal Editor of the Sunday Times, Roya Nikkhah, said of a potential meeting between Harry and Charles this week: “No one knows apart from the King, Harry and his private secretary. As from what I understand, it’s still very up in the air.
“If it does happen, I think it’ll happen midweek when the King comes down from Balmoral. It’s never that simple. Father and son want to see each other but Harry has said so many things in the last two years that has been hurtful to the King, to the Queen, to William, to Kate. There’s so much mistrust. Can a meeting like that happen and Harry not talk about it after? That’s the key question.”
