Prince Harry felt more like an ‘official visitor’ rather than family during meeting with father King Charles in bleak sign for his royal future

The Duke of Sussex, 41, who flew to the UK for four days of charity events including the WellChild Awards, met with his father at Clarence House on Wednesday, September 10 in what insiders described as Harry’s strongest effort yet to mend fences with the royal family.

The pair spent 53 minutes together in their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months.

Just over two weeks after the private audience, Harry is said to have joked that he felt more like an “official visitor” rather than a family member, according to reports.

He is also understood to have been “taken by surprise” over how “distinctly formal” the meeting was.

Insiders have also suggested the exchange was similar to when dignitaries and visitors are hosted at royal residences.

The father and son swapped kisses on the cheek as well as presents, with Harry reportedly arriving with photographs and videos of his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, as part of a bid to restore family ties.

King Charles has only met Archie a handful of times, while his youngest granddaughter has been seen just once, during the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022. 

While the meeting between Harry and Charles had been billed as significant and as a potential stepping stone to repairing their relationship, the nature of the exchange that has since emerged paints a bleaker picture.

Charles has also reportedly told his son that he will never be allowed to return as a “half-in, half-out” working royal.

Prior to their catch-up, courtiers from both households were even said to be weighing up ways to bring father and son together more often over the next year, possibly paving the way for a joint appearance at a public event.

Harry himself stoked the speculation, telling The Guardian the very next day that he still has “a lot of support from the British public”.

But palace insiders insist the King will not bend on one crucial point: Harry’s royal status.

The Sussexes have not been working royals since more than five years ago, in March 2020.

They were officially evicted from their UK residence Frogmore Cottage in 2023, months after Harry’s controversial memoir Spare was released, and the family currently live in a Montecito mansion in California.