The prince was due to attend a reception for the Invictus Games Wednesday evening, which means his meeting with Charles lasted less than an hour.
“The meeting was brief because of the King’s busy diary and Harry having an Invictus engagement in his diary, but it’s very significant that it has happened,” says Charlotte Griffiths, editor at large at The Mail on Sunday. She also revealed that a meeting between Harry and his father was in the cards after their respective communication aides were photographed meeting in London this summer.
“Harry had a meeting in London this morning and then made sure he kept his schedule completely clear so that he could see his father at a moment’s notice,’ according to Griffiths. “It was a last-minute diary plan – it wasn’t in Harry’s diary – but perhaps that’s because he was nervous about leaks. He was prepared to drop everything to see his father and he let that be known to the palace.”
Before their meeting, Harry had spent the afternoon in White City touring Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies. While there he stopped to pose for selfies with a small group of fans who had gathered outside wanting to meet him.
The Duke told them, “I have to go…I’m so late,” when he rushed off at 3 p.m.
Meanwhile, King Charles was seen arriving at Clarence House at around 4 p.m., having arrived at RAF Northolt an hour earlier from Balmoral.
Sources close to King Charles say he is keen for a reconciliation with Harry, and that while he agreed to see his son, any long-term reconciliation is up to the Duke.
“The King has always left the door open for Harry to come back to Britain, Charles genuinely misses him and it pains him that there is a rift, but the ball is in Harry’s court,” says a source who knows the King. “If details of their meeting are leaked, then it will be a short-lived reconciliation. The issue of trust is very important to the King, and has been breached in the past.
Harry has to prove he can keep the conversations between them private if he wants to really have a relationship with his father.”
While Harry will be in London briefly tomorrow before returning home to California, King Charles will return to Balmoral Wednesday night.
It is understood that Harry has had no contact with his brother Prince William, who was appearing at engagements in Cardiff on Wednesday.
