LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry arrived in the U.K. on Monday leading to speculation about whether he will meet with his father, King Charles III, for the first time in 19 months.
Amid signs of a thaw in the frigid relationship between Harry and the rest of the royal family, British media suggest that the prince’s trip to London on Monday’s third anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth II provides an opening for a long-overdue rapprochement between Charles, 76, and his estranged son. Harry visited the monarch’s grave in Windsor to offer his respects and lay flowers.
Harry has had little contact with his father and elder brother, Prince William, since he and his wife, the former Meghan Markle, gave up royal duties and moved to California in 2020.
The relationship became even frostier after the couple bared their grievances with Buckingham Palace in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey, a Netflix series and Harry’s memoir, “Spare.”
The Duke of Sussex with members of the royal family in 2015.
Danny Martindale via Getty Images
A frosty relationship
The last time Harry and Charles met was in February 2024, when the prince flew to London after receiving news that his father had been diagnosed with cancer. Harry spent about 45 minutes with Charles before the king flew to his Sandringham country estate to recuperate from his treatment.
Harry was last in London in April, when the Court of Appeal rejected his bid to restore a police protection detail that was canceled after he stopped being a working royal. Charles was on a state visit to Italy at the time, so a meeting was impossible.
That case was itself an impediment to improved relations because it involved Harry criticizing the king’s government in the courts. But once it was over, change became possible.
Immediately after the case ended, Harry said he would “love reconciliation with my family.”
“There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore,” he told the BBC on the day the court case was resolved. “Life is precious. I don’t know how much longer my father has.”
Despite that olive branch, Harry struck a combative tone that might torpedo hopes of repairing the family breach. The prince repeatedly said that the decision to withdraw his security was made at the direction of the royal household in an effort to control him and his wife while putting their safety at risk.
“What I’m struggling to forgive, and what I will probably always struggle to forgive, is the decision that was made in 2020 that affects my every single day and that is knowingly putting me and my family in harm’s way,” Harry said.
Prince Harry smiles towards the media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice on April 8, 2025.
via Associated Press
Change of tone
But with the lawsuit out of the way,