After 19 months with no contact, Buckingham Palace confirmed to the BBC that King Charles III and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, had a private tea at Clarence House on September 10. The 50-minute meeting was a welcome surprise to royal fans, who’d been rooting for a reunion between the estranged father and son.
TOBY SHEPHEARD/AFP via Getty ImagesBut the news also sparked more questions. While reporters were pleased by Harry’s response of “Yes, he’s great,” in reference to the King, what did this mean for the future? Was this the first step to repair the rift in their relationship, or will another year or two go by before they meet again? If Harry has his way, this is the start of mending broken familial ties.
Harry’s Next Chapter: Kids in the UK and Quality Time with Dad
After visiting with his father and attending to other obligations in the UK, Prince Harry headed to the border of Poland and Ukraine. The purpose was to take a secret trip to Kyiv, which The Guardian tagged along on. While the trip’s purpose was to promote Harry’s Invictus Games Foundation (IGF), conversation drifted to personal questions, as well.
“I have enjoyed the week,” Harry admitted to The Guardian. “I have always loved the UK and I always will love the UK. It’s been good to reconnect with the causes I am passionate about. I have been able to spend some time with people that I have known for so long. It is hard to do it from far away.”
When asked if he’d like to bring his kids to the UK and spend more time there, Prince Harry answered in the affirmative. “Yes I would. This week has definitely brought that closer.”
Although Harry didn’t discuss King Charles with The Guardian, he made a comment that clarified his desire to spend more time with him. “The focus really has to be on my dad,” he added.
Harry’s Heartfelt Dilemma: Balancing Safety and Family Time with Charles & the Kids
It’s been five years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the United States, and their kids, Archie and Lilibet, are now six and four years old. In June, former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole told The Daily Mail that King Charles feels the “lack of closeness with his California grandchildren acutely.” While he’s generally happy with his life, his “only regret is that he does not see Archie and Lilibet.”
Just a month prior, Harry lost his appeal over his security when visiting the UK. He told the BBC at the time that, due to the ruling, he couldn’t “see a world in which I would bring my wife and children back to the UK at this point.” With his recent thoughts indicating that he’d like to spend more time in the UK with his kids, King Charles will hopefully get to spend more time with the grandchildren he’s missing out on.
