A hopeful scenario for King Charles III and Prince Harry has rapidly shifted into a completely different narrative.
What was once a promising scene has changed into what might be an impossible one. On September 8, Prince Harry is scheduled to be in the UK for several important and somber matters.
Without Meghan Markle or his children, the Duke of Sussex will mark the anniversary of the passing of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The dutiful former soldier will attend the WellChild Awards, as he has done for the past decade. There is one unexpected note of joy penciled into Prince Harry’s agenda — a meeting with King Charles.
The father and son have not seen each other face-to-face for almost two years now.According to multiple reports from sources like The Daily Mail and PEOPLE Magazine, a tentative reconciliation between King Charles and Prince Harry appears to be underway.
These outlets have confirmed that representatives for both the King and the Duke of Sussex have met, and that Harry has reportedly offered to share his official schedule to avoid public appearance clashes with the Royal Family.
However, just days before Prince Harry’s planned visit, an unexpected conflict emerged. The conflict is their dueling schedules.
BBC’s royal expert Jennie Bond explained that the reconciliation is overdue and added: “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.’”
The reporter went on to reveal that Prince Harry’s countless accusations and revelations and lawsuit against King Charles’s government are to blame for the estrangement.
She claimed: “That, though, simply hasn’t been possible while Harry was suing his father‘s own government over his security demands. Now that that court case is over, a major obstacle to a meeting has been cleared.”
She went on to note Prince Harry’s huge efforts in the past months to reconnect with his father by saying: “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.”
Bond did reveal where the hiccup may lie. King Charles is known to be extremely rigid and even stubborn with his schedule, and may not be willing to compromise his routine for a reunion with Prince Harry.
Like clockwork every year, King Charles travels to Scotland to retreat and recuperate at Balmoral Castle.
The King‘s custom is to mark the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death in private by spending time in nature in the deep forests around Balmoral.
It has been a tradition for royals to spend the end of summer in Scotland, which is around the same time Prince Harry will be in the UK.
Bond said: “We have all become quite used to Harry coming and going without seeing his family.His visits are generally extremely brief and the King is usually up in Scotland for the anniversary of his mother‘s death. So arranging a meeting may not be straightforward.”
However, some royal journalists believe that King Charles might be having cold feet for another unexpected reason.
There may be a possibility that Queen Camilla has spoken to him about the potential stress that a sit-down with Prince Harry could have on his health, both mentally and physically.
As a result, he is calmly and quietly maneuvering to avoid the meeting with Prince Harry. However, Prince Harry could get some face time with other relatives.
She said: “Harry may well see some of his cousins – such as Eugenie or Beatrice — but I don’t think there’s any likelihood of a meeting with William or Catherine.”
However, nothing will sway Prince William from meeting with his brother. She said: “I would never say never in a family dispute. As the years roll by, it may be that William will find a way to reconcile with Harry. But that day – if it ever comes, and it may not – is not any time soon.”
Ultimately, what was once a glimmer of hope for reconciliation between the King and his son has instead become a painful reminder of the enduring divide within the Royal Family.
