Prince Harry made time to meet with his father King Charles on Wednesday, the third day of his four-day visit to the UK. The 40-year-old, who has lived in the US since 2020, travelled to the UK this week to carry out a host of charitable engagements – inlcuding his appearance at the WellChild Awards on Monday.
The royal, who travelled without his wife and two children, also made time between engagements on Wednesday for a 50-minute conversation with his father at Clarence House in Westminster, London. The King had also already travelled into London for his weekly cancer treatment as well as his audience with the Prime Minister.
The meeting, which was their first since February 2024, was confirmed as the pair having had “private tea”.
Clarence House – the location of the meeting – is the primary residence of King Charles and Queen Camilla – and is more of a private home for them than Buckingham Palace.
Buckingham Palace has been described on the royal website as being the “administrative headquarters of the Monarch” and more of a “working building”.
The reason behind the private residence being the chosen place to hold the meeting is likely due to the father-son duo wanting a more peaceful and quiet place for a private family meeting.
Additionally, Buckingham Palace is currently set to undergo extensive renovations until 2027, as revealed in the palace’s annual Sovereign Grant report last year.
Rachel Avery, HELLO!’s Homes Editor, also explained that Clarence House is more than just a home for the King.
She said: “Clarence House was passed down from the Queen Mother to King Charles III when he was still Prince Charles, so it has a lot of sentimental value. The monarch has even spoken about his fond memories of spending time there as a child.”
Harry also made an appearance at the Diana Award just hours before he left the UK. Instead of travelling back to the US, Harry then made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Friday.