King Charles hosted his estranged son, Prince Harry, at Clarence House this week, after the pair had not seen each other for 19 months, and it was reportedly all down to one of his key allies. The Duke of Sussex spent a little less than an hour sharing a private tea with his father on Wednesday before he left and carried out more engagements that evening.
Both camps confirmed there was indeed a meeting between the two but gave no details of what was said. The move sparked hope for a possible path to reconciliation in the future. Now insiders have claimed the meeting would not have been possible without the help of one of the King’s newest and most trusted advisors – Theo Rycroft. He was a former diplomat based in Paris. He served as the Minister and Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy from July 2021 to January 2025.
In February, Roycroft started working as the King’s new deputy private secretary, alongside private secretary Sir Clive Alderton.
Alderton is also a former British diplomat who has worked for the Royal Family since 2006, and has served the King since 2022.
Prince Harry nicknamed Alderton the “Wasp” in his memoir Spare, alleging that he would “put you on his list” and “give you such a stab with his outsized stinger that you’d cry out in confusion”.
But according to the Scottish Daily Express, Rycroft is known to have a softer approach.
He joined the King and Queen on their trip to Italy earlier this year, while last year, he was seen with Prince William in France, when he attended the reopening of Notre Dame.
At the time of his appointment, a source told the Daily Mail: “Theo is a terrific appointment, bringing a wealth of experience from his time in Paris – not least helping with the phenomenal success of Their Majesties’ crucial State Visit to France and the Prince of Wales’s recent meeting with President Trump.”
The Oxford graduate served as the EU Director in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London and was Head of the EU Exit Strategy Department in the FCO from 2017 to 2018.
Until 2017, he was the Legal Adviser to the Prime Minister at No10, and Head of International and EU Law at the Attorney General’s Office.
He was Counsellor at the UK Mission to the United Nations in Geneva between 2011 and 2014, Assistant Legal Adviser at the FCO from 2009 to 2011, and National Security Litigation team member in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department from 2005 to 2009.
Before joining the Civil Service, he worked as a commercial litigation solicitor at Herbert Smith LLP.
He is married to Hon Flora Astor, of the famous Astor family, who gained prominence in the US and the UK in various sectors during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Lady Flora is a half sister of Samantha Cameron, now the Lady Cameron, the wife of former Prime Minister David, now Lord Cameron.