With Prince Harry set to return to the UK on Monday amid rumours that he will reunite with King Charles on his trip, a royal expert has claimed that the estranged father and son will only meet under very specific conditions
Prince Harry is set to return to the UK next week for the first time since April this year to attend the annual WellChild Awards, with rumours continuing to swirl that he will reunite with his father King Charles during his trip.
The Duke of Sussex and the King have not seen each other for 20 months, with their last meeting taking place in February 2024 when Charles first revealed his cancer diagnosis.
With Harry’s trip to London coinciding with the third anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s passing on September 8, many royal commentators and fans alike have speculated whether Prince Harry and King Charles will meet for a long overdue reunion.
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According to royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams, while a reconciliation between the estranged father and son is definitely on the cards, he claimed that Harry and Charles are only likely to meet if their reunion is in private.
The royal commentator told the Express : “What makes sense is for Prince Harry and the King to meet privately and build up trust. However, there is no chance of that happening!”
Fitzwilliams added that if Harry and Charles don’t meet, it is likely to be the fault of the Sussex camp and Meghan Markle ’s recent comments on the royal family.
He said: “If King Charles does not see Prince Harry on his next visit, the blame is likely to fall on the Sussexes. Meghan has just attacked the Royal Family again in her interview on Bloomberg saying she did not feel authentic when a working member.”
Mr Fitzwilliams continued: “In May, Harry gave an emotional and erratic interview on the BBC when he lost his case on security. The meeting between royal aides did suggest something might happen soon, and someone probably leaked that.”
The royal expert added that recent rumours around a potential documentary, commissioned by Harry, to honour the life of Princess Diana may also be a major barrier to the father and son mending their relationship.
He said: “ Netflix would obviously like Harry to be involved in a documentary to commemorate 30 years since Diana’s tragic death. This may be highly controversial, especially with William, probably with Charles. So no one will blame him (King Charles) if he keeps his distance. However, they might meet and it might lead to something.”
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond also weighed in on the possibility of a reconciliation between Harry and Charles next week, saying a reunion between the family is long overdue.
She told the Mirror : “I will say that a meeting between Harry and his father is long overdue. I have always thought that it is the parent’s role to be the bigger person in any family row: you just have to open your arms and say to your child – albeit a grown-up child – ‘Come here you silly so-and-so, and give me a hug.’”
Jennie admitted that this is easier said than done when talking about the royal family, given the spate of public jabs since Harry and Meghan left the Firm in 2020. She also claimed Harry’s battle for UK security may have played a part in extending the long-running feud.
“That, though, simply hasn’t been possible while Harry was suing his father‘s own government over his security demands,” she said. “Now that that court case is over, a major obstacle to a meeting has been cleared.”
“So, particularly given that we know that the communications teams from each side have met fairly recently and that therefore an avenue of communication is open, a meeting when Harry is here for the Well Child Awards could hopefully happen.”
