ROYAL SNUB
Prince Harry WON’T meet Charles on whistle-stop UK trip due to King’s ‘full programme’ but says ‘I hope to see him soon’
It's understood Harry will not see his brother Prince William
PRINCE Harry won't meet King Charles on his whistle-stop UK trip due to the monarch's "full programme" - but says he "hopes to see him soon".
A spokesperson for Harry has responded to "speculation on whether or not The Duke will meet with his father while in the UK this week".
14
14
14
14
14
They said: "It unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.
"The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon."
The prince has jetted all the way from California for a service at St Paul's Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary of his Invictus Games.
He was said to be "in good spirits" during the summit, according to other guests.
Read More Royals
He made a 10-minute speech to around 100 people inside the historic Armoury House.
Colombian powerlifter Victor Vera, 37, told the Sun: “He seemed to be very happy to be there.
“There was no talk about King Charles or the royals. He kept it strictly about the games which is what everyone was here for really.
“He was in good spirits - it was a light-hearted event”.
Most read in Royals
He was then pictured smiling as he left the Honourable Artillery Company shortly after 6pm.
Harry and Charles last reunited at Clarence House in February for their first face-to-face meeting in 16 months.
The prince flew to the UK alone without Meghan or their children Archie and Lilibet.
But Meghan will join Harry on his visit to Nigeria later this week, it's understood.
It's understood Harry will not see his brother Prince William - but had been “keen” to see his dad while visiting.
Charles, 75, resumed public duties last week for the first time since beginning cancer treatment.
He is now expected to attend the year’s first Buckingham Palace garden party.
William has been stung by his brother’s attacks and has not spoken to Harry since Queen Elizabeth’s funeral.
Prince Harry dons military medals in sunny Montecito mansion to give award to soldier despite being stripped of titles
Harry launched the Invictus Games in 2014 as a sports contest for injured military veterans.
At the gathering today he paid tribute to competitors' "commitment, enthusiasm and belief".
In the programme for the summit, he writes: "It has been an honour to watch the Invictus Games Foundation grow over the years.
"It began as a vision to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans.
"It has now flourished into an international organisation built on hope, strength, and unity."
It comes as Wills is today set to award the mum of one of Harry's pals an MBE.
Henry van Straubenzee died in a car crash in 2002 - he had been the duke's best pal at school.
Wills is now set to today honour Claire van Straubenzee at Windsor Castle in recognition of services to children’s education in Uganda.
Henry, known as Henners, was killed in a car crash near Ludgrove Prep school in Berkshire, where he was working during his gap year.
Prince Harry wrote affectionately of Henry in his memoir Spare.
A meeting unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme.
Spokesperson for Prince Harry
The duke said: “Skinny, with no muscles, and hair that stood up in permanent surrender, Henners was all heart.
“Whenever he smiled, people melted.”
The Duke said he was the only boy who asked him about his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, after she was killed.
In 2007, Claire and her family set up the Henry van Straubenzee Memorial Fund to support children in Uganda.
It was initially at the school where Henry had been due to teach before his tragic death.
Read More on The Sun
Meghan Markle paid tribute to Henry at a carol service in 2018.
Harry & the King can't play happy families with such huge public attention, says The Sun's Matt Wilkinson
By Matt Wilkinson, Royal Editor
Prince Harry is in London but he won’t meet his father The King.
The Duke of Sussex arrived from LA alone without Meghan or their children for a busy diary of events marking 10 years of his Invictus Games.
Before setting off from California it is understood Harry was said to have been "keen’ to see the King for only the second time since his cancer diagnosis.
It is rather telling that confirmation there will be no meeting has come from the Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex rather than Buckingham Palace.
His team say "it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full program".
They add: "The Duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon."
Now, the word that jumps out is "priorities".
The King, we understand, is busy as he returns to public duty.
For instance, on Tuesday while Harry was in London the King was carrying out his constitutional duty and meeting the Prime Minister of Fiji at the palace.
He is also set to host a palace garden party and weekly audience with the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
And Harry’s diary is packed full for three days with Invictus. However, they will be at times just two miles apart and risk even driving past each other on London’s roads.
Some observers may see this as "sad" that father and son cannot find time.
Others may say that it’s understandable as both have work commitments and "priorities".
But maybe there has just been too much water under the bridge for father and son to play happy families amid such huge public attention.
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
14
A timeline of Prince Harry and William's 'feud': Brothers 'at war'
In 2018, The Sun told how "simmering tension" began when William questioned the speed of Harry and Meghan's engagement.
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she'd returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn't take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he "went mental".
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure - but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry, 39, also hinted in his ITV documentary "Harry and Meghan, An African Journey" that he and his brother had grown apart.
It came after Prince Philip called Meghan the "D.O.W" after the Duchess of Windsor — the American divorcee who led Edward VIII to abdicate.
And he warned the late Queen to be "cautious" of Harry's then bride-to-be, a royal author claims.
Ingrid Seward revealed in new book My Mother And I that Prince Philip felt it was "uncanny...how much Meghan reminded him of the Duchess of Windsor".
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a "peacemaker" between the brothers.
Last year Harry claimed his brother "knocked him to the floor" during an argument about Meghan.
In his book Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan "rude" and "difficult" during a row.
Harry alleged William "grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor".
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch's shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day - without seeing Wills.
Topics