Recent peace talks between aides of Prince Harry and King Charles have led to the possibility that father and son could meet in person for the first time in 18 months. Both Harry and the King were said to have given their blessing for the talks, dubbed a “peace summit”, which involved the King and Queen’s director of communications Tobyn Andreae and Meredith Maines and Liam Maguire from the Sussex camp.
Harry is due to return to the UK in September for the annual Wellchild Awards in London, a charity he has been patron of for 17 years. And hopes have been raised that he could meet with his father when he returns to his home country.
Father and son have had a fraught relationship since Harry and Meghan decided to quit as senior royals in favour of a new life in America. In the five years since Megxit, the couple have levelled numerous public attacks at the Firm, worsening relations.
But Harry did rush over to the UK when the King’s cancer diagnosis was made public last February. The pair met for around 30minutes at Clarence House, before the Duke jetted back home to the US.
It was the last time they had met, and they’re understood to have barely spoken since then, too.
The update discussions were held over how to move the relationship forward and end the stalemate. Both sides supported the proposals to “open a channel of communication”, according to the Sun.
The talks, held at the members-only Royal Over-Seas League club just a stones throw from Buckingham Palace, were to discuss ways of ending the family feud and not about a return to royal duties for Harry.
However, Prince William’s team was not involved in the discussions, a sign that relations between the two brothers still need work.
Now that Harry’s court battle over his UK security is over, it appears that it is time to move forward.
In May, the Duke launched a bombshell attack on the Firm after losing his High Court case seeking taxpayer funded security, despite no longer being a working royal.
In an interview with the BBC, the king’s youngest son described the ruling as an “old-fashioned establishment stitch-up”.
He also discussed his relationship with his father, saying: “I don’t know how much longer my father has — he won’t speak to me because of this security stuff but it would be nice to reconcile.”
