King Charles and his estranged son Prince Harry reunited for a brief 30 minute meeting hours after the 75-year-old monarch’s cancer diagnosis was made public. Yet despite Harry’s willingness to return to the royal fold, Charles may not allow it.
Prince Harry has reportedly shown interest in returning to life as a working royal, leaving King Charles with a tough decision.
In the weeks since the 75-year-old monarch’s cancer diagnosis was made public, there has been plenty of royal experts theorising his youngest son, 39, may make a temporary return to royal duties — especially as senior royal, Princess Kate, 42, is still recovering from planned abdominal surgery.
Now, sources have revealed whether there is any truth to the speculation, telling the Daily Mail that despite Harry’s quick act of flying to the UK to visit his father in person for a brief 30 minutes, the King maintains his son will not return to working royal life.
“Have the King and Harry been speaking? Yes. Does this mean a return to the fold even temporarily? No,” one source told the news outlet, with another adding, “Aside from a small number of investitures, the King does not plan to offload a great number of duties on other family members while he undergoes treatment.”
Despite Charles’ alleged decision, sources have claimed he is intent on fixing his relationship with the Duke of Sussex and it seems Harry feels the same.
While speaking with ABC’s Good Morning America last week, the Prince hinted at the chance of royal reconciliation amid his father’s diagnosis.
“I love my family. And the fact that I was able to get on a plane and go and see [my father] and spend any time with him, I’m grateful for that,” he told interviewer Will Reeve, whose father was Christopher Reeve, and spoke of his own experience with the late actor’s tragic paralysis.
“I’ve also found in my own life that sort of an illness in the family can have a galvanising or a sort of reunifying effect for a family. Is that possible in this case?” Reeve asked.
“I think any illness, any sickness, brings families together. I see it time and time again,” agreed the Duke.
King Charles’ cancer diagnosis was publicly announced at the beginning of February, with Buckingham Palace also revealing the King would suspend public-facing royal duties while he received treatment.
The Duke, who visited the UK for 24 hours and spent 45 minutes at Clarence House with his father, revealed to Reeve that his recent visit — thought to be their first meeting since 2022 — wasn’t an isolated event.
“I have got other trips planned that would take me through the UK or back to the UK. I will stop in and see my family as much as I can.”
The relationship between the Duke, 39, and his family has been fraught for years. Things came to a head, at least publicly, last year with the “racist royals” media coverage, in redacted names from the Duke’s autobiography were accidentally published in the Dutch edition.