Prince Harry has suggested that people are seeking to sabotage his reconciliation with King Charles as he hit back at “invention fed” media reports on the pair’s recent meeting.
Harry met the king for the first time in almost two years at Clarence House in London on 10 September.
The Sun reported on Saturday that the meeting was “distinctly formal”, claiming that Harry joked he felt more like an “official visitor” rather than a member of the royal family.
The newspaper also cited sources close to Harry which denied he said he felt like an “official visitor”. A spokesperson for the prince went further, describing the quotes attributed to Harry as “pure invention fed, one can only assume, by sources intent on sabotaging any reconciliation between father and son”.
The spokesperson did not specify who the information might have come from.
The Sun said Harry had confirmed parts of its report, telling the Guardian he “was given full right of reply yesterday in advance of publication and opted not to give a response to the Sun’s carefully sourced account of the meeting”.
Harry’s spokesperson also corrected part of the Sun’s report about gifts that had been exchanged between the king and him.
The Sun had initially said a framed photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s family was exchanged.
But Harry’s spokesperson denied the claim, saying: “While we would have preferred such details to remain private, for the sake of clarity we can confirm that a framed photograph was handed over, however the image did not contain the duke and duchess.”
The duke carried out several charity events in Nottingham and London during his recent four-day visit to the UK this month.
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The private tea between Harry and Charles, which lasted 54 minutes, came after the Duke of Sussex told the BBC in May he would “love a reconciliation” with his family.
Harry attended the Invictus reception at the Gherkin in London after the meeting. Asked how his father was during the event, he replied: “Yes, he’s great, thank you.”
The pair’s last engagement together took place in February 2024, soon after the king’s cancer diagnosis last year.
Harry, Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, now live in California. The last known meeting between Charles and his grandchildren was at the late Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee in June 2022.
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