Prince Harry came to the UK earlier this month for a special service to honour the Invictus Games
It seems as if Prince Harry maneuvered the situation in a way that may not align with King Charles’s desires.
According to a palace insider when theDuke of Sussexcame to the UK earlier this month for a special service to honour the Invictus Games, many believed he would have a reunion with his father but a statement from Harry’s spokesperson confirmed he would not be meeting his father, who had a “full programme”.
However, it was later reported in theSunday Timesthat Harry had asked if he could stay at a royal residence during his UK trip – a request which was said to have been granted by his father, although Harry ultimately stayed in a hotel.
And discussing her story on the latest episode of the podcastThe Royals with Roya and Kate, the Sunday Times royal editor Roya Nikkhah explained: “All the narrative from the moment he [Harry] touched down and we got that statement from Harry’s spokesperson saying it’s not possible for Harry to see his father, his father is too busy, he completely understands. That set the mood music for the whole week that Harry had said Pa is too busy to see me.
“I just thought something didn’t feel quite right about this, so I dug away and dug away a bit deeper and found out that actually, Harry had asked if he could stay and Charles had said yes, come and stay son. You come and stay in a royal residence, you are near where I am so it’s going to be much easier for me to see you given what’s going on with my diary and your diary.
“And that turned everything on its head because the narrative from Harry that I wanted to see my father but he is too busy to see me, actually the reality was Charles said yes please do come and stay in a royal gaff and that would make it much easier for me to see each other.”
And in response, The Times assistant editor Kate Mansey revealed: “Someone at the palace told me that the King was bruised by that statement that Harry put out, which all plays into exactly why.”
Meanwhile, Roya added: “The clashing that still remains is that Harry let it be known that he absolutely did ask to see his father, he put in a request well in advance of coming, more than 28 days before the warning he gives to the Home Office for security, absolutely adamant that he did. Charles’ camp says as far as we are aware, we didn’t get a request. So still recollections may vary.”
For the unversed, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated their sixth wedding anniversary over the weekend, but there was no sign of public acknowledgment from the couple.
