King gets long-awaited reunion with Archie and Lilibet as Harry and Meghan visit royal residence

King Charles has been reunited with his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the monarch at his country estate on Friday.

The King welcomed Meghan and Harry’s children to his Highgrove residence following days of speculation regarding a potential family meeting.

Archie, aged seven, and Lilibet, five, had not seen their grandfather in person since Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. It is understood that Queen Camilla, whose private home is located near the King’s Gloucestershire property, was also present during the gathering.

This meeting between Charles and the young prince and princess is likely to be interpreted as a significant step towards mending the relationship between the King and his son, Harry.

The pair had been estranged for some time, particularly after Harry’s public criticisms of his father, stepmother Camilla, brother the Prince of Wales, and sister-in-law Kate, expressed in his Oprah interview, Netflix documentary, various interviews, and his autobiography Spare, following his departure from the working monarchy six years ago.

The reunion occurred on the same afternoon that Prince William was participating in a charity polo match at Windsor, highlighting the ongoing and seemingly unabated rift between the brothers.

The Princess of Wales cheered from the sidelines as William competed on a baking hot polo pitch in a charity cup.

The Prince of Wales rode alongside top professional players as well as keen amateurs at the Guards Polo Club, near Windsor, on Friday, with the day’s sport fundraising £1,050,000, pushing the Royal Charity Polo Cup’s total to more than £15m.

However, Harry’s transatlantic dash from California to Britain in February 2024, following his father’s cancer diagnosis, may have initiated the first steps towards reconciliation between the King and his youngest son.

Harry had initially planned for his family to accompany him to the UK for a week-long series of events promoting charities and organisations, including the Invictus Games he founded.

While security issues prevented Meghan and the children from travelling with him earlier in the week, it appears these concerns were mitigated to allow for the visit to Highgrove to proceed.