The Duke of Sussex has been reunited with his father, the King, for the first time in 19 months. Prince Harry was captured arriving by car at Charles's London residence, Clarence House, at 17.20pm on Wednesday afternoon. Speculation of a reunion between father and son mounted in the lead-up to their meeting as Charles, 76, flew back to London from Balmoral Castle on Wednesday afternoon. Their timings coincided as Harry visited the Centre for Blast Injury Studies at Imperial College London.
Buckingham Palace confirmed the King had a private tea with the Duke at Clarence House. Harry left Clarence House at 6.14, roughly an hour after his arrival. He was driven out in a black car and is expected to attend an Invictus Games related event this evening. The Duke, 40, last saw his father for a 45-minute meeting at Clarence House in February 2024, after he made a transatlantic dash from his Californian home to the UK to see Charles following his cancer diagnosis.
The father-of-two landed in the UK on Monday, beginning his trip by leaving flowers at the final resting place of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II in Windsor to mark the third anniversary of her death.
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© Getty ImagesHe attended the WellChild Awards in the capital on Monday evening, before travelling up to Nottingham to visit the Community Recording Studio, where he announced that he has made a £1.1 million personal donation to BBC Children In Need to support young people affected by youth violence.
A step towards royal reconciliation?
Harry last visited London in April as he attended a court hearing about his security arrangements, but lost his Court of Appeal challenge in May. In an interview with BBC News following the verdict, the Duke said he would "love reconciliation" with his family. Since stepping back as a senior royal with wife Meghan in 2020, Harry has spoken openly about the breakdown of his relationship with his family members, namely his father the King and brother Prince William.
© GettyIn his memoir, Spare, released in January 2023, Harry detailed an alleged physical fight between him and his older brother. William and Harry were last seen publicly at the King's coronation in May 2023, seated three rows apart with no interactions spotted between the pair. The royal brothers were also reunited privately at their maternal uncle Lord Robert Fellowes' funeral in Norfolk in August 2024, but they reportedly did not speak or sit next to one another.
© GettyThe pair remain estranged, with William travelling to Cardiff on Wednesday to learn about a pioneering mental health hub on World Suicide Prevention Day, with no prospect of the pair meeting. Harry told the BBC News in May: "Of course, some members of my family will never forgive me for writing a book. Of course, they will never forgive me for lots of things. But you know, I would love reconciliation with my family," he added, continuing: "Life is precious. I don't know how much longer my father has, he won't speak to me because of this security stuff, but it would be nice to reconcile."
© GettyLater, asked if the last step to repairing relations with his family was the security issue, he said: "100 per cent", adding: "Whatever noise is being created, whatever stories have been written, this has always been the sticking point." Senior aides to Charles and Harry were pictured in the Mail On Sunday during a meeting in London this summer that was reportedly a step towards restoring the relationship between the Duke and the royal family.
