King Charles’ refusal to meet Prince Harry during his royal visit to the US earlier this year could see the Duke reject any offer to meet his father while in the UK this week.
Harry has returned to the UK this week for a series of charity engagements, including starting his trip with an event in London for the Invictus Games.
The Duke of Sussex and the King last met in September 2025 at Clarence House in London.
Charles and Queen Camilla completed a four-day state visit to the United States, where Harry lives with Meghan Markle and their two children, in April earlier this year, but the monarch’s tour did not include spending any time with his youngest son.
Royal expert John McDermott, Caloroga Shark Media co-founder and creator of the Palace Intrigue podcast, told Sky News Australia that Charles decided against fitting a visit into his schedule because “any meeting between the King and Prince Harry would have become the story”.
“It would have overshadowed the purpose of the King’s official trip and shifted the headlines away from the events he was there to undertake,” Mr McDermott said.
“We’re already seeing weeks of speculation over whether Harry will meet members of the Royal Family during his upcoming UK visit, so you can imagine the frenzy a meeting in California would have generated.
“There are also significant security and logistical considerations whenever the King travels.”
The “frenzy” a meeting between the father-and-son could result in, may lead to the Duke deciding against meeting with his father while in the UK.
Mr McDermott noted Harry’s number one priority for his return is the Invictus Games, “a cause he’s remained deeply committed to”.
He said the Invictus Games held next year will be a key opportunity for the Royal Family to publicly support Harry.
“The more interesting question, in my view, is what happens when the Games themselves take place next year,” he said.
“With plenty of advance notice, senior members of the Royal Family will have the opportunity to decide whether to attend and won’t be able to blame ‘scheduling’ for a well-announced event. Whatever they choose, that decision makes headlines.”
It was originally reported that Meghan and their children would accompany Harry for the entirety of the visit, but it is now thought they may only join him for the later part of the trip due to security concerns.
Harry’s team had also announced that an invitation to stay in Buckingham Palace had been accepted, before the Palace later said the Duke had been told on Saturday he would not be able to stay, because he had not responded to the invitation in time.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
