Despite both being in London at the same time, King Charles II and his youngest son Prince Harry did not reunite when they were both mere kilometres from each other on April 6.
His Majesty arrived via helicopter to Kensington Palace at 10:30am that morning, while the Duke of Sussex flew into the British capital at 3pm that same afternoon.
While there were several hours still remaining in the day, the 76-year-old was unable to see Prince Harry due to a pre-planned private appointment.
Unfortunately their opportunity to meet was limited to that day, with Charles flying to Italy for a four-day state visit alongside his wife Queen Camilla the following morning.
Harry had returned to the United Kingdom to appeal a court ruling from April 2024 that revoked his access to state-funded security when he visited the UK both alone, with his wife Meghan Markle, and their two young children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Daily Mail columnist and royal biographer Robert Hardman said the case could of been part of why they did not reunite.
“There is legal jeopardy which is the simple fact that here you have the son of the King suing the King’s ministers in the King’s court and that just creates all sorts of legal problems,” he said in an episode of Palace Confidential.
“It would only need Harry to have a conversation with his father and then afterwards let slip, ‘Oh my dad said this or my dad said that’ and as we know, he does repeat conversations quite readily. That could lead to all sorts of problems. It could actually bring down a court case because the King is the fount of justice. He has got to be very careful.”
The last known meeting between father and son was more than a year ago in February 2024 when Harry made an emergency dash from his home in Montecito, California to London following the monarch’s shocking cancer diagnosis.
He was in the country for less than 24 hours and only had a brief, private meeting with his father.
Robert said Charles’ treatment could also be another reason. “Let’s not forget, there is a lot of stress,” he said. “He is someone undergoing medical treatment so people are trying to keep the stress levels down but his legal advice is you can’t have a conversation until all this is sorted out.”
Prior to that, Harry’s last trip to the UK was in May 2023 for the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla, heading straight to the airport to fly home to America at the conclusion of the event.
“Any illness, any sickness, brings families together…and that makes me very happy,” he later shared in an interview with Good Morning America, leaving many royal watchers to believe the health crisis may help mend their strained relationship.
Despite this, royal insiders have previously claimed that the King stopped picking up the phone to the Duke, and was “frustrated” that Harry believed he could influence decisions made surrounding access to state-funded security.
While Buckingham Palace and spokespersons for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have declined to comment on the current state of Charles and Harry’s relationship, or when they will reunite, a friend of Harry’s has shed light on the situation.
“His calls go unanswered. He has tried to reach out about the King’s health, but those calls go unanswered too,” they shared with PEOPLE in July 2024.
“He gets ‘unavailable right now,'” he added.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had their automatic rights to UK police security stripped by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) after they formally stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
While Harry did offer to pay for the cost of using state security services, his bid was rejected. His legal team had previously revealed that he did “not feel safe” bringing his children to his home country without police protection.
It is worth noting that constitutionally, the monarch has no government power in the UK and over RAVEC. It has been reported however that the Duke wants his father to intervene.
