NEED TO KNOW
- Prince Harry is heading to the U.K. in early September, prompting speculation that he could use the visit to reunite with King Charles
- The Duke of Sussex, 40, will be in London for the annual WellChild Awards
- King Charles and Prince Harry have not met in person since February 2024, amid their ongoing estrangement
Prince Harry is heading to the U.K. early next month, raising speculation that he could meet with his father, King Charles, for the first time in 18 months.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, who is estranged from his father and brother, Prince William, 43, has made no secret of his desire to begin steps towards a rapprochement amid their deep and lasting rift. Whether his family will make time for him is still very much in question, though. Father and son have not met in person since February 2024, days after King Charles, 76, revealed he was being treated for an undisclosed cancer.
Harry will be in London on Sept. 8, the third anniversary of the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, for the annual WellChild Awards. It is an engagement he cherishes and one which highlights his commitment to, and empathy for, children with long-term health challenges and the families who care for them. He is unlikely to have his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, or their children, children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, with him.
The days each side of his date in London would, it seems, present a chance for him to head up to Balmoral Castle, Scotland, where the King will likely still be based, to see his father if he’s invited.
The tight-lipped royals have not said at any point recently that they would like to meet with Prince Harry. When the Duke of Sussex was last in the U.K. for family events, like the funeral of his uncle Lord Robert Fellowes last August (which Prince William also attended, although the brothers remained separated), or official events over the last 18 months, he has not met with them.
He was also in London for the Invictus Games’ 10th anniversary in May last year, when King Charles was hosting an event only a few miles away, and in September 2024 for the last WellChild Awards. He returned again in April for the resumption and conclusion of his appeal over the removal of his taxpayer-funded security.
The family strains initially burst into the public sphere when he stepped back from frontline royal life with Meghan and started a new life in California, where they are now raising their children, Archie and Lilibet.
That chasm deepened with bombshell interviews, including one with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Harry and Meghan’s Netflix docuseries and Harry’s best-selling memoir Spare, which alleged a physical altercation with Prince William. The book also excoriated Queen Camilla, 78, and his upbringing by King Charles. With that in mind, longtime royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith has summed up their issue, telling PEOPLE in June, “The underlying issue is trust. The King and William don’t trust Harry and Meghan with any kind of confidential conversation.”
The rift has been so deep that Harry said in May that they don’t have any communication and, sadly and bluntly, admitted that he doesn’t “know how much longer my father has.”
A major stumbling block has been the legal case Prince Harry was fighting against the U.K. government over the removal of his official, taxpayer-funded security. He lost that appeal in May. Immediately after the decision was made, the Duke of Sussex spoke to BBC News and said he “would love reconciliation with my family. There’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
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With the legal case out of the way, Prince Harry’s new aides and one of King Charles’ key staffers met for the first time in July, opening up channels of communication. The meeting was viewed by some insiders as an olive branch that could pave the way for better relations.
Most people close to the royal family believe it will take a lot more for Prince William and Prince Harry to mend their bridges.
Some close royal observers and insiders believe King Charles, a practising Christian and head of the Church of England and a longtime advocate for unity, should take the first step. But he has been coping with facing a life-threatening illness and, of course, is head of the institution that Prince Harry has criticized in his books and interviews.
“I would like to think the King will take that step toward reconciliation with Harry in due course,” historian Dr. Ed Owens, author of After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?, told PEOPLE earlier this year.
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