Prince Harry reunites with King Charles for tea after almost two years

Prince Harry and King Charles have reunited for the first time in more than 18 months today (Wednesday).

The Duke of Sussex is currently on a rare trip to the UK. Arriving in the UK on Monday for the annual WellChild Awards, Harry has attended a series of charity engagements throughout the country on his short trip.

On Tuesday, he headed to Nottingham before taking a trip to the Imperial College London today.

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And during the whirlwind visit, following months of speculation, the previously estranged father and son had tea during a 55-minute private meeting at Clarence House, the Mirror reports.

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It is said to be their first meeting since February, 2024.

Charles arrived at the royal residence at 3:45pm after flying from Balmoral earlier this afternoon, while Harry arrived more than an hour after his father, pulling up at 5:20pm.

Before leaving his event at White City, Harry told the crowds who had gathered to see him that he was ‘running so late’ as he quickly departed for another meeting.

The Duke of Sussex arrived at the back door of Clarence House for the long-awaited meeting with his father, with the Prince turning out of the eyeline of photographers, who were eagerly waiting to snap the moment the father and son reunited.

It was previously understood that Harry wouldn’t have long with his father, as was due to make another appearance in London at around 6pm. However, Prince Harry left Clarence House at 6:15pm – 55 minutes after he arrived.

Royal sources said Harry and Charles’ private tea took place following the King holding an investiture at Clarence House for Holocaust survivor Manfred Goldberg, who has been awarded an MBE for services to Holocaust remembrance and education.

Mr Goldberg was one of the individuals to feature in His Majesty’s Holocaust survivors portraits project and his portrait now hangs in the East Wing of Buckingham Palace, alongside the six other Holocaust survivors portraits and the similar Windrush generation portraits.

Earlier in the afternoon, the King also conducted a Privy Council at St James’ Palace.

Following the King’s meeting with his son, Charles also held an in person audience with premier of South Australia Peter Malinauskas. After the highly-anticipated reunion with his youngest son, Charles will return to Balmoral tomorrow.

While Harry met with his father in private, the Duke of Sussex has not met with his brother Prince William, or any other member of the royal family while on his rare trip to the UK.

The reconciliation between Prince Harry and King Charles comes after the pair have been at odds with each other for several years, with their relationship fracturing after Harry, alongside his wife Meghan Markle, quit their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California.

Since then, Harry and Meghan have taken several public jabs at the royal family in their tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, their documentary series on Netflix in 2022, and Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare in 2023.

The dozens of accusations levelled at the Firm only further drove a wedge between the Sussexes and the royal family, with speculation mounting that Prince Harry and King Charles were not on speaking terms.

In May, Harry spoke to the BBC in an explosive interview where he expressed his desire to reconcile with his father in light of his cancer diagnosis, as he said he “wasn’t sure how much time” Charles had left.

The prince admitted, however, that ‘some members of my family may never forgive me’ after his years of public jabs towards the Firm.

Rumours of a reconciliation between Charles and Harry were first sparked in July when senior aides to both parties were seen having a meeting in London, minutes away from Clarence House.

The speculation over a potential meeting was fuelled when it was revealed that Harry’s trip to the UK would coincide with the third anniversary of the death of Queen Elizabeth, and the fact that Charles had no foreign engagements planned when Harry would travel back to his home country.