Prince Harry’s King Charles Visit Doesn’t Have the ‘Door Opening to Reconciliation,’ Commentator Says: ‘It Speaks Volumes’
Amid talk Prince Harry’s visit to see King Charles III following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis could spark a reconciliation, a royal commentator says it highlighted just how broken relations have become. Ahead, why the Duke of Sussex’s brief return to the U.K. wasn’t the “first sign” of a reconciliation.
Harry’s short visit to see King Charles wasn’t a ‘sign of the door opening to reconciliation’
Yes, Harry jumped on a plane in the hours after the king’s cancer diagnosis announcement, but according to royal commentator Charlie Ray, it doesn’t mean the royal family’s moving on from their years-long rift.
“I think this just emphasizes and underlines how [deep] the rift is in the family,” the formal royal editor told TalkTV. “I don’t think this is the first sign of the door opening to reconciliation.”
“The fact that Harry has been there only for half an hour — it speaks volumes,” Ray continued. “He could have stayed around.”
“Prince William, if he wanted, could have met Harry. Maybe not today because he was working, but he hasn’t got any official public duties for the rest of the week. He may have private duties, but he could have seen Harry. And that again shows how deep the chasm is between the two brothers.”
“I am not sure it is going to open any doors for future meetings of peace between Harry and the rest of the family. There is going to be no welcome at Adelaide Cottage for Prince Harry from The Waleses.”
“There is an awful lot going under the bridge, and I know lots of families fall out over all sorts of things, and sometimes there is a reconciliation, and they put everything back,” he went on. “But we are way down that road now,” he concluded.
Harry visited King Charles in London on Feb. 6
The Duke of Sussex traveled to London, England, from his and Meghan Markle’s home in Montecito, California, after the king’s cancer diagnosis went public.
Harry touched down in England on Feb. 6, 2024, where he reportedly went directly to Clarence House, the king and Queen Camilla’s longtime London residence. Cameras spotted Harry entering the property around 2 p.m. local time and leaving less than an hour later.
Harry reportedly spent the night in a “luxury hotel,” as he no longer has a U.K. home, before being pictured returning to Heathrow Airport for a return flight to California (via Express). In total, Harry spent less than 24 hours in England.
Buckingham Palace announced the king’s cancer diagnosis on Feb. 5
Before Harry boarded a plane to see his father, Buckingham Palace went public with the king’s cancer diagnosis. On the evening of Feb. 5, 2024, after the king had reportedly told close family, the palace released a statement.
In it, the palace said a “separate issue” arose during the monarch’s recent hospitalization for an enlarged prostate.
“During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer,” the statement began.
Elsewhere in the statement, which dropped a week after the king and Kate Middleton were both discharged from The London Clinic, the palace noted the king started a “schedule of regular treatments.”
Furthermore, that he’d continue the majority of his work “as usual,” comprising “State business and official paperwork.” However, King Charles postponed “public-facing duties” per doctors’ recommendations.
