Prince Harry has left his meeting with King Charles after just 54 minutes despite the Duke not seeing his father in 18 months. The long awaited royal reconciliation took place today, the Duke of Sussex’s car was seen pulling into Clarence House at 5:20pm following the monarch’s arrival back in London.
The King landed at RAF Northolt around 3pm this afternoon, having travelled from Aberdeen, as he had been staying at the Balmoral Estate. Harry had been in White City, west London, this afternoon touring Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies in a visit that ended just after 3pm. Although the prince was reunited with his father, Harry missed out on the opportunity to reunite with his aunt, the Duchess of Edinburgh, who had been in Clarence House, but left before the prince arrived.
Their meeting was so brief due to Harry having a reception to attend this evening for an event linked to the Invictus Games, which he launched in 2014 as a tournament for injured service personnel and veterans.
The Duke of Sussex had approximately three hours spare for such a meeting with Charles between his two engagements in London this afternoon.
Harry is currently on a rare four-day trip to the UK, carrying out a string of solo charity visits, but is yet to be reunited with his brother Prince William or sister-in-law Catherine.
Earlier this afternoon Prince Harry has made a speedy exit from his engagement, telling onlookers that he was “running late” for something.
He briefly told a small group of fans: “I have to go, I’m so late… I’ve got to go, I’ve got to go. Nice to meet you guys.”
This landmark meeting is the first time father and son have met face to face in over 18 months, following Harry’s transatlantic dash to see the monarch in February 2024 after the King’s cancer diagnosis was made public.
It was mooted at the time as a sign that royal relations were on the mend, but while the Duke continued his personal crusade against the Home Office over his UK security provisions, tensions remained high and he continued to make snide comments to the press.